Downtown Seattle plagued by near-impossible left turns

In KIRO Radio’s Chokepoints series, we take a closer look at the traffic issues plaguing commuters in the Puget Sound region.

This Chokepoint came to me from KIRO Radio listener Carl. He said he’s frustrated that cars can’t make turns onto downtown Seattle streets because there are so many pedestrians in the crosswalks.

He specifically mentioned 5th and Union, where Union will back up for blocks every afternoon commute because no cars can turn left onto 5th.

Seattle City traffic engineer Dongho Chang said this is an issue at most downtown intersections and there’s not much that can be done about it because there are just more people walking downtown at that time.

He said many of those intersections, like 5th and Union, have become dangerous and the city is making improvements.

“We had two pedestrian collisions there a couple years ago,” Chang said. “We needed to address that. When we see these safety concerns, we want to make sure that we address it as responsibly as possible.”

What’s the city doing about these conflicts?

According to Chang, a few years ago the city ran into the same issue at 5th and University where people were trying to turn left to access I-5.

It added a left turn signal for cars. When it’s on, pedestrians have the ‘Don’t Walk’ signal. So this allows cars to make left turns without having to wait for walkers.

Chang said 5th and Union will get the same treatment.

“We’re working on a project to do the same thing, putting in a left turn light so pedestrians have their walk phase. We accommodate them and then allow the vehicles to turn with the traffic light.”

Chang said the city hopes to have that light installed by the end of this month so drivers on Union will be getting a little bit of relief.

So for listener Carl who suggested the city put in a ‘Don’t Walk’ cycle for pedestrians at 5th and Union, you’re going to get one.

Now, it’s up to the pedestrians to not jaywalk.