Traffic deaths on stretches of Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Seattle have doubled in the last five-year period, despite the city’s goal to reach zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
A KUOW analysis of recent city data shows how a city-wide push to lower speed limits can improve some elements of safety – but experts say there is still work to do when it comes to slowing drivers down and keeping pedestrians safe.
it’s a major thoroughfare - basically you have this and I-5 to go north/south; rainier ave is much more narrow with lots of street parking (not that these things stop people speeding through;) I spend a lot of time near MLK/Othello and MLK/Alaska volunteering, I don’t think you can revamp - traffic mitigate, lane reductions etc., - this without it hurting accessibility in a substantial way. it’s already carrying a very heavy amount of traffic.
In my experience people still regularly hit 50 on MLK, I don’t have a problem with the limit set at 25 but any constriction of flow is gonna huuurt.
I mean, I don’t think usage statistics are a great way to evaluate what needs to be done to any given road. If a road has a speed limit as low as 25 mph there probably shouldn’t be more than one lane per direction.