Transportation

Government

The challenges of designing safer Seattle streets

After "a particularly fatal year," Seattle is expected to receive $25.7 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to prevent traffic fatalities.

Chinatown-International District grapples with losing 2 community newspapers and ‘their voice’

Two Seattle newspapers focused on the Asian community stopped printing this month. Many advocates and residents of the Chinatown-International District say they fear they’ll be left without a voice and a way to safely advocate for their neighborhood.

Roadway carnage has lawmakers pitching everything from more photo radar to fewer right turns on red

State lawmakers in Olympia are debating a suite of possible new responses to surging traffic fatalities. Those include authorizing photo radar in highway work zones, prohibiting right turns at many red lights, and lowering the breathalyzer limit to convict for drunk driving. Some of these ideas have corollaries in Oregon, where the legislative machinery is getting revved up too.

Government

WA lawmakers push stricter .05 DUI limit amid record road deaths

"When your blood alcohol content reaches .05, medical experts tell us that your reaction times and your ability to make critical decisions is about 40% worse than when you have a blood alcohol content of zero. When you are at .08, it's something like 160% worse."

Government

Guerrilla crosswalks and homemade signage: the promises and perils of DIY urbanism

Well-intentioned projects like guerilla crosswalks and ad hoc bike lanes are quick solutions in the face of increasing traffic fatalities. But who installs these projects and who benefits from them varies widely.

Government

Hear It Again: Transit Woes

The Soundside team is taking some time off this week, and while we’re away, we’re revisiting some of the episodes that made us think about the way we move throughout our region. We’ll explore why the U.S. is one of the only wealthy countries to be moving in the wrong direction on traffic deaths. Plus, those escalators in the light rail stations, they’re still giving us grief!

Government

Hear it again: Most sidewalks in WA are not accessible

A report by the Seattle Times looked at the infrastructure of 30 Washington state jurisdictions. In all of those cities and counties, less than half of the roads and sidewalks complied with ADA standards.

Health

Traffic fatalities spike in Washington state

Ryan Packer of The Urbanist and Yonah Freemark of the Urban Institute join Soundside to discuss traffic fatalities both nationally and here in Washington state.