Big Change Comes To Seattle's 'Most Dangerous' Street

SEATTLE, WA — It's 8:18 a.m. on Monday morning at the intersection of Rainier Avenue and Cloverdale Street, and the driver of an older Ford Escort station wagon apparently doesn't have time for traffic laws.

Approaching the Rainier and Cloverdale Street intersection, the driver ignores a right-turn only lane, and then speeds into a bus-only lane marked with very noticeable red paint.

Thankfully, that driver is just one of a handful seen Monday morning ignoring the brand new bus-only lanes SDOT painted between Aug. 17 and 18 along Seattle's most dangerous street. The lanes will probably be the most noticeable change in SDOT's second phase of safety upgrades along a stretch of Rainier between the Hillman City and Rainier Beach neighborhoods.

The bus-only lanes last for just a block or four near three major intersections — Cloverdale, Othello Street, and Graham Street. At Cloverdale on Monday morning, most drivers were able to merge before hitting the bus-only lane — except for that Ford Escort, and another man in a big SUV who turned right from Cloverdale into the bus lane. At Othello, at least three cars blew through the bus-only lane within a span of about 10 minutes.

A right turn-only lane for cars precedes each bus-only lane. This effectively narrows Rainier to one lane in many spots. About five years ago, SDOT reduced Rainier through the Hillman City and Columbia City business districts to one lane in each direction by adding a center turn lane. That reduced collisions by about 15 percent, SDOT found. Between 2011 and 2014, the entire length of Rainier in Seattle saw 1,243 collisions, including 61 involving a pedestrian or cyclist, and two fatalities.

For drivers who disobey the new turn and bus-only lanes, there's not much anyone can do — unless there's a Seattle police officer watching. During the last legislative session, the city lobbied to get permission to add enforcement cameras in bus-only zones. That bill went nowhere, and now Seattle residents have taken action on their own terms. SDOT will monitor vehicle counts near the new lanes and make adjustments if necessary, spokesman Ethan Bergerson said.

What's next for Rainier Avenue? Look for more re-striping projects continuing until around September 2020. Some work will take longer because overhead bus trolley wires will need to be moved. Pedestrians can expect a wider sidewalk soon at Holly Street, and in 2020 a new crossing at Rose Street.

SDOT also says that City Council has approved $500,000 to make upgrades between Henderson and 57th Avenue South, but that work won't happen until 2020 and 2021.