The Seattle Department of Transportation

35th Avenue SW Safety Corridor

Before and After Study:

SW Roxbury St to SW Holly St
Table of Contents
35th Avenue SW Safety Corridor ............................................................................................................. 1
Project Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Background ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Project Area ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Rechannelization Improvements ......................................................................................................... 8
Before and After Results .................................................................................................................... 10
Speed ............................................................................................................................................ 10
Volumes ........................................................................................................................................ 12
Collisions ....................................................................................................................................... 13
Travel Times .................................................................................................................................. 19
Transit Improvements ............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Next Steps ......................................................................................................................................... 22
Outreach Summary............................................................................................................................ 22
Phase 2 Work................................................................................................................................. 22
Public Comment “What we heard” / Result ................................................................................... 22
Attachment A: Project Plans .............................................................................................................. 23
Attachment B: Collision Data ............................................................................................................. 23
Attachment C: Traffic modeling summaries and signal information.................................................... 23
Attachment D: Demographics ............................................................................................................ 23

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Project Overview
The 35th Avenue SW Road Safety Corridor Project was launched in response to several serious injury
and fatal collisions on the roadway and long-standing community requests to reduce speeds and
enhance pedestrian crossings. The project was launched though the City of Seattle’s Vision Zero
program which aims to end traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. The Seattle Department of
Transportation (SDOT) led the effort to redesign the street with enforcement support from the Seattle
Police Department (SPD).

The goals of this project were to reduce speeds, reduce collisions and injuries, enhance conditions for
vulnerable users and maintain acceptable transit and vehicular travel times.

SDOT held several community meetings and a walking tour along the corridor as part of the public
outreach. After hearing feedback from the community, SDOT proposed the following design changes to
enhance safety along the corridor:

• Reconfigure the channelization on the southernmost two-mile segment of 35th Avenue SW from
a four-lane roadway (two travel lanes in each direction) to a three-lane street (one travel lane in
each direction with a center left turn lane)
• Install Business Access & Transit lanes (BAT) to ensure the efficient movement of transit at all
intersections with traffic signals
• Reduce the posted speed limit to 30 mph (previous posted speed limit at 35 mph)
• Improve the channelization at SW Barton Street to provide left turn pockets

In September 2015, SDOT implemented these changes to enhance safety for all.

Since implementation, vehicular speeds have been reduced along the corridor and there have been zero
serious injury or fatal collisions.

The following report describes SDOT’s approach to this project including street design changes,
enforcement, and a before and after evaluation. Additional information, including data, outreach
information, project plans, and modeling summaries can be found on the project website:
www.seattle.gov/transportation/35thSW.htm

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Background
Safety on 35th Avenue SW has been a long-time concern for residents who hosted rallies several times
over the years to bring attention to their concerns about speeding and pedestrian safety. After touring
the street with a city councilmember, the Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board wrote a letter to the
Department of Transportation requesting significant changes to the roadway. The West Seattle
Transportation Coalition and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce also listed safety on 35th Avenue
SW as their top priority in 2011 stating:

“Making substantial improvements to 35th Avenue SW was identified as the highest priority for the West Seattle
Transportation Coalition and the community, through responses received from the West Seattle Blog.

35th Ave SW, which is the most heavily used north/south corridor in all of West Seattle (22,000+ daily drivers) was
seen as a high-speed corridor that is a concern for motorist, pedestrians and bicyclist. 35th Avenue SW will continue
to be heavily utilized as more density and important service are located along this corridor. It is important that
safety for all is improved along this corridor.” Commented [CJ1]: http://www.seattle.gov/transportatio
n/docs/ctac/CTAC%20Recommendations%20from%20West
The corridor was nicknamed “I-35” in the neighborhood due to high vehicular speeds on the corridor as %20Seattle.pdf
well as the fact that the corridor provides convenient north-south travel between regional
transportation facilities, businesses, and residences.

Commented [CJ2]: Photos/

Commented [CJ3]: Caption: 2008 Safety Rally on 35th Ave
SW
Images from WSB with permission.
http://westseattleblog.com/2008/10/report-1-pedestrian-
safety-rally-at-35thjuneau/

4
 Commented [CJ4]: http://westseattleblog.com/2008/10/
report-2-35thjuneau-safety-rally-and-a-crash-hours-later/

Many modifications were made to the roadway over the years prior to this project in an attempt to
enhance safety including the installation of radar speed signs, new traffic signals, and new ______ .
However, serious collisions continued to occur on 35th.

On January 18, 2014, SDOT, Mayor’s Office staff, and elected officials attended a meeting to address
traffic safety on 35th Avenue SW. The meeting was called by the community in response to a fatal
pedestrian collision that occurred at the intersection of 35th Avenue SW and SW Graham Street on
December 29, 2013. Attendees included district and community council representatives, residents, and
advocacy groups. Participants requested a wide range of safety improvements for the corridor including
new traffic signals, channelization modifications, arterial traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures.

Unfortunately, data show that 35th Avenue SW is one

of the top corridors for traffic fatalities in Seattle.
While SDOT has made changes to the corridor over the
years, more substantial countermeasures were being
considered to enhance safety for everyone that uses
the street.

Characteristics of the corridor

This study area for this multi-year project included the 3-mile segment of the corridor classified as a
principle arterial street between SW Roxbury Street and SW Edmunds Street. The corridor is a primary Commented [CJ5]: MAP
emergency response route that facilitates regional travel to facilities like the West Seattle Bridge and
interstate highways. Countermeasures deployed during Phase 1 of the project were installed on the 2-
mile long segment of 35th between SW Roxbury Street and SW Holly Street.

More than 80 percent of the properties along 35th are classified as single- or multi-family residential.
Other adjacent land uses include parks, schools, libraries, institutions, and commercial/retail.

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35th Avenue SW carries relatively high traffic volumes when compared to nearby arterial streets. Traffic
volumes range from 16,000 vehicles per day on the south end of the corridor near SW Roxbury Street to
nearly 25,000 vehicles per day at Fauntleroy Way SW/West Seattle Bridge. On-street parking is allowed Commented [CJ6]: Insert ADT graph
along the majority of the corridor. The street is not currently designated as a freight or major truck
route but is used by trucks to access retail centers like Westwood Village at 26th Avenue SW and SW
Barton Street.

There are a number of vulnerable populations who live within this area. According to the American
Community Survey (ACS, 2010-2014), approximately 33 percent of the population who live along the
corridor are either younger than 18 years old or older than 65 years old.

Additionally, this corridor supports frequent transit service including King County Metro Transit Routes
21 and 21 Express as well as portions of the Rapid Ride C Line. During the weekdays, more than 5,000
transit riders cross 35th Avenue SW to get between their bus stop and homes.

Speed
Vehicular speeds on 35th Avenue SW have been a long-time community concern. The posted speed limit
on the corridor, prior to redesign, was 35 miles per hour (mph). Speed studies confirmed that more than
1000 vehicles per day exceeded 40 mph on 35th.

Speeds at SW Myrtle St
85th Percentile (Speed at which 85% of drivers travel at or below)
2015
Northbound 40.9 mph
Southbound 39.1 mph
Speeders (Percent driving faster than 35 mph)
Northbound 67.2%
Southbound 50.8%
Top End Speeders (Percent driving 10+ mph over posted speed limit)
Northbound 2.4%
Southbound 1.2%

While speeds had been reduced through a series of pre-project arterial traffic calming measures like
radar speed signs and mobile photo enforcement, data show that additional street design changes were
needed to reduce vehicular speeds.

Collisions
In the three years prior to project implementation, nearly 300 collisions occurred on 35th Avenue SW
causing 128 injuries and 2 fatalities. Looking back at 10 years of pre-project data, more than 1000
crashes occurred leading to 412 injuries and five deaths. Four of the five deaths were pedestrians.

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Behaviors also contribute to collisions on this corridor. Aggressive driving, distracted driving, speeding,
and failure to yield are the most common contributing causes of crashes on 35th Avenue SW.

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Data and Modeling
SDOT collected an immense amount of data on 35th Avenue SW, intersecting streets, and nearby
arterials to model design concepts and create baseline data. Data collection included:

• Turning movement counts at every intersection during the morning peak hours, off-peak
hours, and the evening peak hours
• Pedestrian, bicycle, freight, and transit counts
• Floating car travel times (where staff verify model baseline travel times by driving the
corridor and record results)
• Transit travel times

Two design concepts were developed and modeled for this project. Both alternatives included
rechannelization. “Alternative A” reduced the number of lanes on the corridor from four lanes to three
lanes (one general purpose lane in each direction with a center turn lane). “Alternative B” included the
4-to-3 rechannelization but allowed for an additional vehicular travel lane in the morning and evening
hours through peak hour parking restrictions.

[INSERT DESIGN ALTERNATIVES]

Design concepts were assessed using the Synchro simulation model to better understand the impacts of
our design alternatives. Modeling alternatives allowed us to consider potential traffic diversions as well
as general purpose vehicle travel times. SDOT focused modeling on the peak periods when traffic
volumes are highest to better understand the most significant impacts of the proposed design
alternatives.

Both design alternatives were developed to balance the need to move people and goods with the
function of the nearby land uses and to enhance safety. Potential impacts to travel times were
communicated to the public through a series of outreach events.

Street Design Modifications

After studying the corridor and vetting street concepts with the public, SDOT implemented “Alternative
A” for Phase 1 of the project in September 2015. Phase 1 focused on the 2-mile segment of 35th Commented [CJ7]: MAP!
between SW Roxbury Street and SW Holly Street.

Project plans can be viewed on the project website. The following describes the street design elements
employed during Phase 1 of this multi-year project:

Rechannelization

SDOT removed one lane of traffic in each direction and added a center turn lane along the entire length
of the Phase 1 project area. Rechannelization has been proven effective for reducing vehicle speeds,
high-end speeding (10+ mph over the speed limit) and collisions involving turning movements. This
rechannelization reduces the number of lanes pedestrians must cross and provides a center turn lane to
enhance left turns and traffic flow efficiency.

Transit efficiency measures

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Maintaining efficient and reliable transit service was a stated goal of this project. Business Access &
Transit (BAT) lanes allow buses to use right turn lanes to avoid queues at traffic signals. BAT lanes were
installed at every signalized intersection in the project area.

Speed limit adjustment

SDOT has completed more than 40 rechannelization projects of this nature since the 1970s. With each
of these projects SDOT measured significant reductions in 85th percentile speeds, speeding, and high-
end speeding. During the design process, SDOT engineers determined that the speed limit on 35th
Avenue SW should be reduced from 35 to 30 mph with the channelization changes.

Signal timing changes

With more than 800 vehicles traveling through the Phase 1 project area during the afternoon peak
hours, SDOT determined that signal timing changes would be needed to manage traffic flow. The
efficiency of the rechannelization design along with longer signal cycles substantially offsets the loss of
travel lanes.

Commented [CJ8]: Caption: Alternative A was

implemented on 35th Avenue SW between Roxbury and
Holly in September 2015.

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 Before and After Results
The 35th Avenue SW Safety Corridor Project has enhanced safety. Vehicular speeds have dropped, traffic
volumes have remained consistent, and travel times have outperformed expectations.

Speeds
After the Phase 1 redesign, speeding was reduced significantly. Speeding dropped by an average of 42
percent and top end speeders (10+ mph over the posted speed limit) dropped 52 percent. Meanwhile,
overall speeds fell by less than 10 percent (3.5 mph).

On the northern segment of the corridor, the majority of drivers still travel at nearly 40 mph and nearly
1000 drivers per day travel at speeds of 45 mph or higher. Speed is the critical factor in collision severity
and 40 mph is deadly for vulnerable users. Speed-reduction techniques will be applied in Phase 2.

If you drive steadily at 35 mph from Morgan to Roxbury it would take you 3 minutes and 5 seconds. At
30 mph it would take 30 seconds longer. Speeding may not save drivers much time but it does make
collisions more common and severe.

• Prior to the new design, >___ (__%) of people were driving past the speed limit.
• The new design effectively reduces the number of vehicle speed past the speed limit, especially
the top end speeders.

Speeds studies were taken at various locations along the corridor.

SW HOLDEN ST

Speeds were collected

SW ROXBURY ST

SW TRENTON ST

North north of SW Myrtle Street

Speeds were collected

Speeds were collected north of SW Willow Street
north of SW Roxbury Street

Legend

Location where before and

after speeds were taken

Location where only after

speeds were taken

Following is the before and after speed data:

Speeds at SW Roxbury St
85th Percentile (Speed at which 85% of drivers travel at or below)
2015 2016 Change
Northbound 34.9 mph 36.2 mph -5.4%

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 Southbound 33.0 mph 28.0 mph -22.7%
Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound 14.2% 11.3% -20.4%
Southbound 21.8% 8.0% -63.3%
Top End Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound 0.2% 0.1% -50.0%
Southbound 0.6% 0.1% -83.3%

Speeds at SW Myrtle St
85th Percentile (Speed at which 85% of drivers travel at or below)
2015 2016 Change
Northbound 40.9 mph 36.1 mph -11.7%
Southbound 39.1 mph 38.6 mph -1.3%
Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound 67.2% 23.4% -65.2%
Southbound 50.8% 38.5% -24.2%
Top End Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound 2.4% 0.2% -91.7%
Southbound 1.2% 1.4% 16.7%

Speeds at SW Willow St
85th Percentile (Speed at which 85% of drivers travel at or below)
2015 2016 Change
Northbound 38.0 mph 36.6 mph -3.7%
Southbound 38.9 mph 37.7 mph -3.1%
Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound 41.0% 26.5% -35.4%
Southbound 47.0% 32.4% -31.1%
Top End Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound 0.6% 0.3% -50.0%
Southbound 1.1% 0.8% -27.3%

Speeds were also taken at SW Trenton St and SW Holden St, where the roadway grade is most flat along
the corridor. Note, speed studies were not taken prior to redesign:

Speeds at SW Trenton St
85th Percentile (Speed at which 85% of drivers travel at or below)
2015 2016 Change

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 Northbound
Southbound
Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound
Southbound
Top End Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound
Southbound

Speeds at SW Holden St
85th Percentile (Speed at which 85% of drivers travel at or below)
2015 2016 Change
Northbound
Southbound
Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound
Southbound
Top End Speeders (Percent driving over 35 mph)
Northbound
Southbound

Volumes
Traffic volumes initially declined along the entire length of 35th Avenue SW since Phase 1 was completed
but volumes remained within historic norms for the corridor. Nearby arterial streets like Delridge Way
SW, Fauntleroy Way SW, SW Roxbury Street and SW 106th Street have seen small increases in traffic
volumes. As of spring 2017, traffic volumes on 35th in the project area have rebounded to pre-project
levels.

SDOT has received just one inquiry about increased traffic on nearby residential streets and site
observations found no significant increases in traffic on these non-arterial streets during peak hours.

• Trends citywide and along the corridor

• Pedestrian increase - # of peds crossings
• Where are the volumes going?
o ATD is providing volume studies throughout Seattle

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Collisions
In the ten years before the 2015 redesign of the southern segment of 35th Avenue SW, nearly 500
collisions occurred between SW Roxbury Street and SW Morgan Street. An average of one pedestrian
was involved in a crash annually, some years having as many as 4 pedestrians were involved in crashes.
There were 9 serious injuries and 1 fatality collision in that 10-year period.

Since the roadway was redesigned, zero pedestrians have been involved in crashes, there have been
zero serious injury or fatal collisions, and there have been 45 total collisions.

Over the past three years there have been 294 total collisions on 35th Avenue SW resulting in 128
injuries. These numbers are comparable to nearby arterial streets like SW Roxbury Street and the
number of total collisions has been trending downward on this corridor over the past three years. There
have been a total of five fatal collisions on 35th Avenue SW in the past seven years which is inconsistent
with similar arterial streets in Seattle.

The roadway redesign is improving safety on the corridor.

Before Redesign % Change

9/1/2005 - After Redesign Before and
Collision Type 8/31/2015 10/1/2015 - After
(average over 9/20/2016 Redesign
10 years)* (10 years)
Total Collisions 46 44 0%

Angles 7 8 14%

Cycles 0 0 0%

Head On 1 0 0%

Left Turn 12 1 -92%

Other 3 1 -33%

Parked Car 7 5 -28%

Pedestrian 1 0 0%

Rear Ended 11 29 164%

Right Turn 0 0 0%

Sideswipe 4 0 0%

Total number of
9 0 -
serious injury collisions

Total number of fatal

1 0 -
collisions

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Collisions by Month
Commented [CJ9]: Update with more relevant data
Collisions by Month
10

7
# of Collisions

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month

average # of collisions last 10 years (before redesign) 1 year (after redesign)

Collisions by Day of Week

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 Collisions by Day of Week
14

12

10
# of Collisions

0
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Day of Week

average # of collisions last 10 years (before redesign) 1 year (after redesign)

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Collisions by Time of Day
Compared with the

Collisions by Time of Day

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10

8
# of Collisions

0
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Time of Collision

average # of collisions last 10 years (before redesign) 1 year (after redesign)

Rear end collisions most commonly occurred during weekend days (Saturday and Sunday), and most
commonly occurred near the traffic signals. As projects continue to

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Collisions have been trending down.

• Within the last 10 years, the average number of collisions has been on a downward trend.
• Within the last 3 years, the average number of collisions has been on an upward trend.
• Since the redesign, the frequency of collisions has been on a downward trend.

Collision by Trend

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 Injury Trend since Redesign
last 10 yrs last 3 yrs 1 yr
(before redesign) (before redesign) (after redesign)

6
# OF COLLISIONS

0
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
MONTH

How does this compare with north end of corridor (Morgan to Alaska)?

Collisions

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Travel Times

Transit

Thanks to the installation of bus and turn lanes at the signalized intersections (also known as BAT lanes),
transit travel times were not significantly impacted. Average transit travel times for both northbound
and southbound buses improved during afternoon peak hours. During the PM peak commute,
southbound buses are traveling the corridor about a minute faster when compared to pre-project travel
times. Transit travel times during the morning peak hours increased slightly.

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 General Purpose Traffic

General purpose traffic, or traffic volumes from passenger vehicles, trucks, emergency vehicles, etc…

During Phase 1, we anticipated that the street re-design would add 1 to 2 minutes of delay depending
on the time of day with a maximum delay of 2.5 minutes during afternoon peak hour traffic. Nearly two-
years’ worth of post-project data show that southbound travel times during the afternoon peak hours
have been minimally affected by these changes. Northbound travel times during the busiest times of day
average 1 minute and 16 seconds longer.

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Next Steps
• Signal timings will be adjusted, and rear end collisions will be
• Continued evaluation of corridor

Outreach Summary
Phase 2 Work
• Overview
o Land Use (Camp Long, Mt. St. Vincent)
o New developments planned
▪ 35th and Avalon—150 new units with 150+ parking spaces on the west side of
35th
▪ 35th and Graham—New mixed-use developments with office space and 100+
living units on the northeast corner of this intersection. More than 100 parking
spaces will be provided. Parking will be accessed via SW Graham Street –not
35th Ave SW.
o Adjacent SDOT projects
▪ West Seattle Greenways
• Greenways definition – routes prioritized for people walking and biking
along non-arterial, residential routes – traffic calming devices (speed
humps, etc.) so it is difficult to drive any faster than 20 mph along these
streets, “big picture” route
o Access
▪ More people living, working and visiting destinations along the corridor will
increase demand on the transportation network.
▪ Preliminary designs for Phase 2 are intended to improve access to residences
and destinations along 35thand to achieve our projects goals:
• Reduce vehicular speeds
• Reduce collisions and injuries
• Improve conditions for vulnerable users like pedestrians and bicyclists
• Maintain acceptable vehicular and transit travel times

Public Comment “What we heard” / Result

• We heard from residents who live along the corridor and from those who use the corridor on a
daily basis. Comments were collect through: phone, email, and public meeting. We heard a
50:50 mix of positive and negative reviews, common themes include:
o Positive feedback included:
▪
o Negative feedback included:
▪

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Attachment A: Project Plans

Attachment B: Collision Data

Attachment C: Traffic modeling summaries and signal information

Attachment D: Demographics
• American Community Survey Report
• Between SW Morgan Street and SW Roxbury Street, we have a corridor mostly lined with single
family homes and neighborhood/commercial type properties:

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