‘Sometimes it’s just bad design’: Gee backs Wilson’s push to ban right turns on red, says real problem is infrastructure

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is directing the city’s lobbyists to ask state lawmakers for the authority to ban right turns on red at any intersection in the city and to lower Washington’s legal blood-alcohol limit, as part of a broader executive order aimed at eliminating traffic deaths, according to an executive order from Wilson’s office.

Gee Scott, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, said too much of the traffic safety debate gets stuck in blame. The real issue, he argued, is the roads themselves.

“This should not be a conversation about cars versus bikes, because we kind of do that from time to time,” Gee said. “‘I don’t like bikes,’ and then bike people, ‘I don’t like the people in the cars.’ And then people walking, ‘I don’t like …’ So we turn this into some type of fight that doesn’t need to be, because sometimes the problem isn’t the driver, or it isn’t the irresponsible cyclist. Sometimes it’s just bad design.”

‘Y’all gonna be real mad at me on the right turns’: Gee says saving lives trumps backlash

Gee said he is fully aligned with Wilson on this one and isn’t concerned about the backlash.

“Mayor Katie Wilson, you and I are on the same page. We lockstep everywhere,” Gee said. “If you guys remember last week, I talked about the problems that we have with e-bikes. I talked about how we’re having problems with pedestrians being hit, and I said it is not enough to just tell people to wear their helmets and be careful. We have to change infrastructure. We have to change how our roads are designed.”

He acknowledged the right-turn ban won’t be popular but argued saving lives matters more than public opinion.

“Y’all gonna be real mad at me on the right turns,” Gee said. “But you could be mad at me all you want as long as we save more lives. Be mad, and that’s what leadership is about. When you are more concerned with the greater good, don’t nobody care about what your opinion is of me or the mayor or whatever this opinion is.”

Gee shares his own close call at Second and University

Gee said the issue hit home recently when he nearly struck a cyclist while making a left turn at Second and University in downtown Seattle.

“I’m getting ready to make the left turn on Second and University,” Gee said. “And what messed me up was there was a green sign for the bikes. There was a green sign also for people going straight, but there was a red arrow for me. Well, out of my peripheral vision, for some reason, even though I’d make this left every morning after the gym, I missed it. So I was getting ready to make my left turn, and oh my goodness, I almost hit a bicyclist.”

Gee said the fault would have been entirely his, and the consequences would have been devastating for both sides.

“If I had hit that bicyclist that day, the rest, I would have been ruined,” Gee said. “That person would have been hurt physically and psychologically. I would have been messed up too. So it’s a lose-lose on everybody’s part.”

Seattle already bans right on red at some intersections, but legislative approval would give the city the power to expand the restriction citywide.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.