Leary Avenue residents looking for safe crossing

Betty Kent and Ned Skavlen are tired of feeling like they are taking a leap of faith every time they cross the street outside of their home at the Ballard Landmark on Leary Avenue. And, they have the signatures of more than 300 people who feel the same way.

"I almost got hit," Kent said of braving the crosswalk that connects the front door of the Landmark senior living facility with the Canal Station condos across Leary. "And, a lot of other residents have said the same thing."

Skavlen said slow-moving seniors with walkers become paralyzed by fast-moving traffic mid-crossing and don't know whether to keep going or turn back.

"You're taking your life into your hands to cross that street," he said.

Kent and Skavlen, as well as the more than 300 residents and visitors of the Landmark and Canal Station who have signed their petition, want to see flashing beacons installed at the crosswalk that sits between 20th Avenue and Market Street on Leary.

When Canal Station and the Landmark were completed, they brought approximately 400 residential units, plus a handful of commercial spaces, to an area that had been dominated by a car dealership.

As the units and commercial spaces continue to fill up, foot traffic along that portion of Leary is only going to increase, Skavlen said.

Kent said there is a dentist, a beauty shop and restaurants on the east side of Leary that would benefit from a safer crossing for Landmark residents.

Marybeth Turner, spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Transportation, said the department decides where to install the flashing crosswalk beacons on a case by case basis.

The department bases its decisions on the visibility of the crosswalk to drivers, a need to increase pedestrian and driver awareness at the location, and traffic and pedestrian volume, among other factors, Turner said.

Neighborhood District Coordinator Rob Mattson said the Department of Transportation could be willing to improve the crossing, but it might be hesitant to install a costly beacon because the location is a mid-block crossing, has good visibility, and is relatively close to the signaled intersection at Market Street.

Turner said mid-block crossings are difficult because drivers do not always expect pedestrians to be crossing mid-block and pedestrians may not pay attention because they assume drivers will notice the beacon.

Along the stretch of Leary Avenue between the Ballard Bridge and Market Street, approximately half a mile, there are two signaled crosswalks – at the Bridge and at Market.

Kent said drivers take the opportunity of a signal-less Leary to get a good speed going and often ignore the nonsignaled crosswalks.

There is simply no good place to cross on most of Leary, Skavlen said.

Mattson said funding for a crosswalk improvement project could come from city grants, such as the Neighborhood Projects Fund or Bridging the Gap Large Projects, for which the Ballard District Council is currently accepting applications.

But, if the Department of Transportation decides there is a safety issue for pedestrians and recommends a solution for the crosswalk, there are larger sources of department funding to use.

Turner said the cost for flashing crosswalk beacons can range from $10,000 to $21,000, depending on the complexity of the intersection and the system being installed.

Kent and Skavlen said they would at least like to see ramps installed at either end of the crosswalk to aid seniors. But, that is another $3,000 per ramp according to the city, Skavlen said.

Once the project is fully studied, planned and added to the Department of Transportation's work program, it takes six months to a year to install a beacon, Turner said.

Skavlen said he heard from someone with the city that the entire project, from planning to construction, could take three years.

"In three years, who knows how many people might get killed," Kent said.

Requests for consideration of midblock crossings may be sent to walkandbike@seattle.gov.