Key Findings Signal Timing We did 21.

5 hours of combined traffic signal observations at six intersections: Type Focus Focus Comparison Neighborhood Columbia City Rainier Beach Ballard Intersection A Alaska & Rainier Ave S Henderson & Rainier Ave S 24th & NW Market Ave Intersection B Edmunds & Rainier Ave S 51st & Rainier Ave S 22nd & NW Market Ave

We found that our observations for Walk time closely matched what SDOT has on file. There are significant differences between Ballard and Rainier Beach and Ballard and Columbia City in both median household income and in race. Ballard has a significantly higher median household income ($72,443 $5,260) than both Columbia City ($47,500 $12,326) and Rainier Beach ($45,956 $8,214). Ballard also has a higher percentage of White residents (85%) than both Columbia City (33%) and Rainier Beach (25%).1,2 SDOT data from 2003-2013 shows that at our intersections of interest, the highest pedestrian fatalities and injuries are in Columbia City, followed closely by Rainier Beach.3 We found no statistically significant difference between the Walk and Flashing Dont Walk (FDW), or the total walk time (Walk+FDW) times between the six intersections, but when we considered intersection distance, we found that the ratio of crosswalk distance to total time to cross (Walk+FDW) was the smallest in Ballard, and the largest in Rainier Beach. This means that in Ballard, pedestrians do not have to walk as fast to make it across the street successfully as they do in the Rainier Valley neighborhoods (see table below). Of the three neighborhoods, Ballard had the highest pedestrian volume (see table below). Of the three neighborhoods, Rainier Beach had the highest number of observed jaywalkers (see table below). We found no statistically significant difference in pedestrian wait time. Nearly 75% of pedestrian delays in all three neighborhoods were more than 30 seconds. This is important because the amount of time a pedestrian must wait before receiving the Walk signal, is a predictor of pedestrian safety. Studies have shown that pedestrian delays longer than 30 seconds significantly contribute to pedestrian noncompliance and lead to jaywalking.4 When comparing the three neighborhoods (by collapsing the intersections to compare by neighborhood) we found that the amount of time a pedestrian has to cross the street, or Total Crossing Time (Walk+FDW time) between the neighborhoods are statistically significantly different. This is just looking at Total Crossing Time, without doing the feet to seconds ratio. At our focus intersections, this Total Crossing Time is shorter in Rainier Beach and Columbia City than in Ballard, despite the fact

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1

City of Seattle. Population characteristics, Census 2010, Summary File 1. Seattle; 2011. Seattle Department of Transportation. Traffic Flow Data and Maps. Seattle; 2011. 3. Seattle Department of Transportation. Collision Diagram Report. Seattle; 2013.

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2 3

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the that the crosswalk distances are longer in Rainier Beach and Columbia City than in Ballard. The focus intersections in Columbia City had the longest crosswalks and the shortest Total Crossing Times (see table below).
Ballard
24 & NW Market Ave
th

Columbia City
Alaska & Rainier Ave S 78.6 3.9 46 Edmunds & Rainier Ave S 57.6 3.1 92

Rainier Beach
Henderson & Rainier Ave S 57.1 3.4 72 51st & Rainier Ave S 66.0 3.6 26 Total Pvalue

22 & NW Market Ave5 52.3 2.0 108

nd

Crosswalk distance (ft) Mean crosswalk distance / total cross time6 (ft/s) Frequency of observations Pedestrian delay7
Mean Ped. delay (> 30 s) Ped. delay (> 60 s)

47.9 2.8 61

N/A 3.1 402

N/A N/A N/A

42.6 31.3 58.3% 35.0% 2.6 2.0 2.4 7.0 1.0 2 9

53.3 22.8 85.0% 44.9% 5.7 4.1 6.3 16.2 5.4 6 26

55.4 41.6 71.7% 43.5% 1.8 1.5 2.2 7.4 2.0 5 10

48.3 36.0 75.9% 24.1% 2.6 1.8 2.4 9.8 1.4 6 20

51.1 27.8 76.4% 34.7% 2.8 2.0 8.0 6.9 1.0 4 17

45.6 33.4 61.5% 38.5% 1.0 0.9 6.1 7.7 2.7 5 20

49.9 31.4 74.4% 36.5% 3.3 3.0 4.6 10.3 5.8 2 26

0.242

Mean pedestrian volume Mean jaywalkers Walk time (s)

Mean MIN MAX

N/A N/A < .001

Flashing Dont Walk time (s)

Mean MIN MAX 10.1 0.3 10 11 10.3 0.6 9 13 13.2 1.4 9 14 9.1 0.9 7 14 10.0 0.5 8 11 10.7 1.6 9 17 10.3 1.4 7 17

< .001

Total crossing time2 (s)

MIN MAX

12 20

15 39

14 24

13 34

12 28

14 37

9 43

N/A

Total crossing time by neighborhood (s)

Mean MIN MAX 23.0 13 36 17.4 14 30 19.5 16 31 20.5 13 36

< .001

Survey Data: We found many statistically significant differences between responses in Columbia City versus those in Rainier Beach. It is likely appropriate to consider the needs and perceptions of these two neighborhoods independently. We found statistically significant differences between the two neighborhoods in their primary mode of transportation: o Columbia City: ! 57% noted walking as their primary mode ! 27% noted public transit as their primary mode o Rainier Beach ! 31% noted walking as their primary mode ! 51% noted public transit as their primary mode
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5

Note: The intersection of 22nd & NW Market Ave in Ballard is the only 5-way intersection we observed, while the others are 4-way intersections. In addition, one of the days observed in Ballard was the day of the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market, which contributes to the higher than average pedestrian volumes. 6 Total cross time = Walk + Flashing Dont Walk 7 N = 394!

 35% of all respondents indicated that they do not (or do not always) have enough time to cross Rainier Avenue as a pedestrian (27% in Columbia City and 44% in Rainier Beach) o Of the respondents we surveyed in Columbia City that live in Columbia City, 40% indicated that they do not (or do not always) have enough time to cross Rainier. o Of the respondents we surveyed in Rainier Beach that live in Rainier Beach, 44% indicated that they do not (or do not always) have enough time to cross Rainier. What makes respondents feel unsafe when Crossing Rainier Avenue? Respondents could select multiple answers, or even provide qualitative answers outside of the given options. Car speed and Signal Timing (which may have included either pedestrian wait time, the amount of time to cross the street, or both) were two of the most often cited responses in both Columbia City and Rainier Beach. Of note, though, is that in Rainier Beach Personal Safety was one of the most often cited responses as well. What makes you feel unsafe when crossing Rainier? Columbia City Rainier Beach Total Car speed 21% 40% 30% Signal Timing 21% 20% 21% Personal Safety (fear of violence, etc.) 4% 20% 11% o Something of note is that these figures change when considering responses from residents only (e.g. 25% of the respondents we surveyed in Columbia City that live in Columbia City and 28% of the respondents we surveyed in Rainier Beach that live in Rainier Beach felt that signal timing made them feel unsafe when crossing Rainier). So, it may be the case that proximity increases understanding of system deficiencies. o We also found a difference between respondents depending on their primary mode of transportation. (e.g. 43% of Rainier Beach walkers cited signal timing a reason they feel unsafe crossing, only 8% of transit users and none of the car users mentioned signal timing). o We found statistically significant differences between respondents in these two neighborhoods in what factors make them feel unsafe when crossing Rainier Avenue. ! Respondents that we surveyed in Columbia City that live in Columbia City were significantly more likely to report that nothing makes them feel unsafe when crossing Rainier Avenue (18%) compared to respondents in Rainier Beach who live in Rainier Beach (8%). o We learned more about what factors make people feel unsafe when crossing Rainier through qualitative interviews. ! Of the 83 respondents who answered the open-ended questions: 23 mentioned drivers do not respect traffic lights; 18 mentioned distracted/malicious drivers; 18 mentioned turning cars o On a five-point scale (1 represents very unsafe and 5 represents safe) Columbia City respondents reported feeling significantly safer (mean=3.7) than respondents in Rainier Beach (mean=3.2). ! Columbia City survey respondents who actually live in Columbia City (mean=3.9) ! Rainier Beach survey respondents who actually live in Rainier Beach (mean=3.2). In our interviews we also heard 12 stories about near misses, 11 stories about jaywalking, and 5 stories about collisions. Through our interviews we also learned that perceived safety depends on location, familiarity of neighborhood, and time of day.