Seattle Forward

Beware: More Police Stings to Protect Pedestrians

Here is the text of an email received this afternoon from Seattle police related to their continuing stings aimed at drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.  As we've written many times before . . . drivers beware!

"Members of various traffic squads conducted a pedestrian crosswalk enforcement operation at two locations  on Wednesday, June 17 - the first at 41st & Stone Way in North Precinct and the second at Martin Luther King Way & Alder in East Precinct.  We were joined and observed at roll call for the 41st & Stone operation by three people from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including former SPD Captain John Moffatt.

 

"From 10 AM to 11 AM we conducted operations at 41st & Stone.  In that time we wrote 32 citations for driver's failure to yield right of way to pedestrians and 27 other citations, including 12 insurance, 11 expired tabs, 2 no valid license, 1 passing in turn lane, and 1 seat belt citation.

 

"From 12:30 PM to about 1:45 PM we worked the MLK & Alder location.  This crosswalk has been repaved recently by SDOT as a raised crosswalk.  Here we wrote 23 right of way pedestrian citations and 10 others, including 7 insurance, 2 expired tabs and 1 driving with license suspended citation.

 

"This totals 55 right of way pedestrian citations and 37 others.  During the operations, there were 161 police crosswalk crossings  and 33 civilian crossings, totaling 194 pedestrian crossings.  Approximately 28% of these crossings resulted in failure to yield to pedestrian citations.  With a total of 92 citations, this was our most productive day of operations in recent memory.

 

"Our next operation date will be scheduled in the near future."

Police Stings and Accountability

Seattle police have been working to improve pedestrian safety with a series of "sting" operations aimed at drivers who fail to yield the right of way to pedestrians.  I've written about this before.  Now, The Seattle Times has written about it.  So, beware, you've been warned . . . again!

My committee will take up the Mayor's nomination of Judge Michael Spearman as the new Office of Professional Accountability auditor tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.  You can read the nomination packet on Judge Spearman here.  Read today's Seattle Times editorial endorsing Judge Spearman. 

Police "Stings" Target Bad Drivers

Every once in awhile, the police department shoots an email to Council members on the city's special Pedestrian Safety Committee to inform us about yet another "sting" operation aimed at driver's who fail to yield to pedestrians crossing at street corners.  Well, another one happened on March 27 when police issued 53 citations to drivers failing to yield to pedestrians at 41st and Stone Way North in the north police precinct and at Martin Luther King Way at East Alder Street in the east precinct.  On average, during these operations one third of all pedestrian crossings resulted in a failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian. 

I've written about these "sting" operations before here and here. 

This type of police enforcement is important because the most significant factor in pedestrian injuries and deaths in Seattle is the failure of drivers to yield. 

Snow Response: Evaluation Round One Complete

After two days of meetings and briefings on the city's response to the December snow storms, plus my own personal observations made while moving around the city during the storms, including walking throughout downtown and my own neighborhood, I'm beginning to understand some of the core problems that led to the less than adequate mobilization of city resources.

I posted some initial thoughts yesterday, including a list of some of the successes that were achieved during the storms.  It's important to keep these successes in mind as we continue to dissect what went wrong. 

Our review of exactly what happened in city government is very important because it will help us be better prepared for the next emergency, whether nature-caused or man-made.  And we have a lot to learn from these December storms.

Now, I also acknowledge that it's very easy to play Monday morning quarterback, that hindsight is invaluable and always more obvious.  But we shouldn't be deterred from asking the hard questions. 

I've drawn some very preliminary conclusions that still must be tested against the facts and refined, but, at this stage of the process, they help me focus my work—

1. I don't believe city officials properly assessed the big picture or strategic scope and impact of the storms.  This failure led to inadequate mobilization of resources.  Most of the testimony

Snow Response: Briefings Continue

Today is Day 2 of the Council's review of the city's snow response.  Here are the key facts and conclusions I gleaned from yesterday's briefing:

1. The Mayor's decision to allow some use of salt, along with de-icing solutions and sand, is a good one and represents the kind of balanced approach necessary to enhance mobility of vehicles around town.  Scientists told us yesterday that the occasional use of salt to melt snow and ice is not a significant negative factor with regard to fish populations.  Far more damaging is the debris from vehicle brakes, dripping oil, and other vehicle pollutants that flow into the storm water drainage system and eventually into Puget Sound, lakes and streams.
2. The director of SDOT reported that city crews plow to the roadway surface and do not plow to leave a compact layer of snow/ice.  This is contrary to what has been reported by the news media, personal observation, and anecdotal reports from citizens throughout the city.  We need to get to the bottom of this issue, so to speak. 
3. It is not clear whether Metro's primary snow routes for buses are all included in the city's

City Snow Response & Public Comments

Council President Conlin released this statement earlier today.  Note the special meetings and public hearing scheduled next week.

The City must learn from this experience, review policies, procedures, and equipment, and identify improvements immediately.  The Council cannot undue the difficulties the last few weeks have brought, but we can make a genuine effort at learning from this situation and finding constructive ways to do better.

We will review the City's performance in this storm, with the goal of identifying lessons learned and determining what specific steps can be taken to improve the response.  The council intends to create a work plan that will implement those recommendations as soon as possible (the storm season is far from over).

The City Council does not directly manage the departments and a number of the policies and procedures for response to these kinds of situations are administrative.  We do have a responsibility to the public to improve government response, provide the budget for training, new equipment, if needed, and other improvements.

The Council’s review will begin on Monday, January 5, at our regular Monday morning

Police Target Drivers Who Fail to Yield to Peds

On average, a vehicle strikes a pedestrian in Seattle 1.5 times per day.  By far, the most common contributing factor to these collisions is a driver failing to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian when required to do so, for example when the driver is making a right turn at an intersection and the pedestrian is in the crosswalk.  The vast majority of pedestrian injuries occur at intersections.

Over the summer, Seattle police began special emphasis patrols at select intersections that focused on driver's who fail to yield.  Using plainclothes officers, police set up "sting" operations.  The most recent "stings" were conducted on Friday, November 21 at 41st and Stone Way and at Martin Luther King and East Alder Street.  Here's what happened during an approximately one hour "sting" at each location:

41st and Stone Way, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
17 failure to yield to pedestrian, one driver's license violation, three using cell phone while driving, four proof of insurance, three expired tabs, and one driver inattention, 29 total citations.

Martin Luther King Blvd and East Alder Street, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
20 failure to yield to pedestrian, one no front license plate, five expired tabs, one failure to use seat belt, seven proof of insurance, 35 total citations.

These emphasis patrols will continue in the future as our city attempts to increase driver awareness of pedestrian safety issues.  So, beware drivers!  Watch for pedestrians.  The poor soul you cut off or nearly run down could be a plainclothes police officer who will radio your vehicle description forward to other officers waiting to issue you a citation.

Read previous postings about pedestrian safety in Seattle, including all the statistics.

Critical Mass Cyclists

My office facilitated a discussion between police commanders, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Critical Mass riders yesterday afternoon in an effort to avoid the type of confrontation that led to injuries, assault, and arrests in late July on Capitol Hill. 

Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and Assistant Chief Nick Metz participated, as did City Attorney Tom Carr, Cascade executive director Chuck Ayers, and Cascade political director David Hiller.  Kerlikowske and Metz agreed that police would have a stronger presence at the next Critical Mass ride in late August and that they would be at Westlake Center (all Critical Ride events begin at Westlake) before the ride begins to answer questions and encourage safer riding practices. 

Chief Kerlikowske provided an update on the police investigation of last month's incident, reporting to the group that police had submitted their case file to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office for their review and decision on whether to file criminal charges. 

Pedestrian Safety Stings: Watch Out!

Quietly this past spring, Seattle police officers staged several pedestrian-safety sting operations around town targeting vehicle drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians crossing the street.  Fifty-one failure-to-yield sting citations were written in May and 60 in June after plainclothes officers attempted to cross the street at marked crosswalks. Other officers observe the violation, then radio details to traffic officers who stop the offending driver.

The photograph shows firefighters tending to a woman who was struck by a motorist in April in West Seattle. 

The stings are part of the city's response to increased pedestrian fatalities.  While the number of pedestrians struck by vehicles was down in the first quarter of 2008 (129) compared to 2007 (161), the number of pedestrians killed soared to five compared to just one last year in the same period.  Most vehicle-pedestrian collisions happen at crosswalks when drivers fail to yield. 

The pedestrian safety stings will resume again in September.  Watch out!

Read a previous post on this topic here.  There are some discrepancies in the numbers reported in the earlier post; these are corrected in the final 2007 Pedestrian and Bicycle Collision Report released last week by SDOT. 

Walkers, Watch Out!

The Council's Pedestrian Safety Committee met today and we received a quick, preliminary report on 2008 1st quarter vehicle-pedestrian collision stats.  Here are the key numbers:

2008 1st Quarter Vehicle-Pedestrian Collisions:  121, compared to 150 same period last year. 

2008 1st Quarter Pedestrians Involved in These Collisions:  133, compared to 161 last year.

2008 1st Quarter Pedestrian Deaths: 4, compared to 1 last year.  Ouch! 

So, fewer overall vehicle-pedestrian collisions in the 1st quarter of 2008, compared to last year, but a kill rate four times as high.  If the first quarter trend continues all year, we will experience 16 pedestrian fatalities in 2008, compared to just six in 2007.  Not likely, but a sobering thought by any measure.

The downtown business district is by far the most dangerous for pedestrians.  The overwhelming majority of vehicle-pedestrian collisions happen in the downtown neighborhood, followed by the University District, Rainier Avenue, and Ballard.  Most pedestrians are hit in crosswalks at corners.  In 2007, 531 pedestrians were struck by vehicles in Seattle, so the next time you think the police shouldn't be spending their time citing pedestrians for crossing against a light or jaywalking, think again.  Pedestrians are struck, on average, 1.45 per day in Seattle (based on 2007 stats). 

Four of last year's pedestrian deaths occurred in the north end, north of the Ship Canal.  One occurred along 23rd Avenue East just south of the Montlake Bridge.  One occurred in West Seattle.  All but one of last year's pedestrian fatalities occurred along major thoroughfares. 

Improving pedestrian safety is a major focus of the Council and all of city government.  A Pedestrian Master Plan is being developed and should be completed by the end of the year.  Coupled with the Bicycle Master Plan issued last year, this plan is another element in the city's effort to make all modes of transportation safe and readily available.  It makes sense in terms of public safety, environmental stewardship, and a more livable city. 

Pedestrian safety can be improved a variety of ways:  increased education and public service campaigns teaching us all to be more aware of those we share the roadway with, better street engineering and design, enhanced lighting, signals, and signage, and more aggressive traffic law enforcement (for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists!). 

I'm interested in your thoughts on this topic.  What do you think the city should do to improve pedestrian safety?