Parents and community members in West Seattle are worried about an intersection that they believe is very dangerous. The intersection is located at 59th and Admiral, about one block from Alki Elementary School.
At the intersection, there are seven different places where cars can be traveling. Parents and community members are hoping street lights and more school zone signs can be added. They say between vehicles and pedestrians, there is way too much going on.
“Did you see me just trying to cross just this little street and I wasn’t sure if that car was going to come straight, this car trying to turn, that car’s trying to turn, I’m like who is going, am I going to cross? What do I do?” Jacquie Womack said. “Then they’re crossing at the same time, a car is turning, another car’s coming, children are coming with their families. It’s not right. Our children are at risk just about every day.”
Recently a mother of a student at Alki Elementary created a task force hoping to convince SDOT to make changes.
“What we need, really, because it is a non-typical intersection, is an all-way traffic light that is pedestrian and vehicle activated and has no turn on red arrows. So that we also have traffic and speeding cameras for violations of red light and speeding,” Merkys Gomez said. “I think when somebody stands on this corner and witnesses some of the flagrant violations it’s really hard to turn a blind eye to what’s going on here.”
SDOT said they share the community’s concerns and they will be making some quick changes in the area. They plan to relocate one of the stop signs closer to the intersection to make it more visible for drivers, they will be adding crosswalk markings, and adding painted curb extensions.
Parents, however, still are hoping that street lights and school zone signs will eventually be added.
SDOT says if people have concerns about traffic or road improvements in their neighborhood, the best way to reach them is by downloading our Find It, Fix It App or by calling the Road Line at 206-684-ROAD.
