Stop sign change in Everett shines light on neighborhood traffic safety

EVERETT — About two months ago, the city of Everett put the finishing touches on a redesigned intersection at College Avenue and 47th Street SE.

It’s part of the $705,000 Fleming Bicycle Corridor project aiming to connect the “southwest Everett manufacturing and industrial center” with downtown. It also flipped around who stops at the intersection. Previously, drivers had to stop if driving north or south on College Avenue at the intersection near Zion Lutheran Church. Those driving east and west on 47th Street SE didn’t need to stop.

Now, it’s flipped. Drivers on College Avenue have the right of way and a free turn. Apparently it has messed with the muscle memory of some drivers — almost leading to a crash more than once on my watch, as someone who resides nearby.

There is not a full north-south bikeway west of Evergreen, and Everett is looking to change that. The project seeks to add safe bike lanes on lightly used roads — part of Mayor Cassie Franklin’s emphasis on climate action and sustainability, and a piece of Everett’s bicycle master plan. A strong argument can be made it’s a sorely needed effort to improve the city’s transportation alternatives to cars.

“We did this to improve bicycle mobility by reducing stops, encouraging cyclists to use the designated bicycle boulevard and avoid streets like Evergreen Way, which has a higher bicycle crash rate and severity rate,” Everett Public Works spokesperson Kathleen Baxter wrote in an email.

Still, there is something to be said for drivers adjusting to signal changes. It happens fairly often with roundabouts, as drivers in Lake Stevens surely understand.

Like anything, it takes time for people to adjust. Myself included.

A safety analysis and a level of service analysis, known as an LOS, “indicated reversing the stop signs could be done without significant impact to overall operation,” Baxter wrote. “We added stop signs on the centerline during the changeover to supplement new signs until drivers got used to the change. The Fleming project included additional bicycle symbols in the intersection to attract the notice of all users of the crossing.”

Baxter went on to say the city will review the intersection after the year.

Here’s my personal review: Some drivers don’t realize they have the right of way and still stop at the intersection. Free turns are not super common on side roads — they’re more common on off-ramps, such as the I-5 off-ramp to 41st Street. There’s a similar off-ramp in Lynnwood, as well.

Several apartment complexes along 47th Street SE have sidewalks, but those end shortly after turning off Evergreen Way onto the side street. That is a dangerous area — pedestrians wishing to access residential areas, Zion Lutheran Church and Forest Park from Evergreen via 47th Street are forced to walk along the shoulder, with little or no protection from cars.

To be clear: There is a wide shoulder to the road, marked by a solid white line. It’s illegal for drivers to cross into the bike and pedestrian zone along 47th Street.

But roads with no sidewalks are twice as likely to have pedestrian crashes than roads with sidewalks on both sides. I’m well aware sidewalks are expensive. It’s a worthy expense and should be a priority if Everett truly wants to promote a pedestrian-friendly environment outside the city’s core.

There have been fewer than five incidents between pedestrians or cyclists and cars on 47th Street over the past five years, according to state Department of Transportation data. There have been around 15 car crashes on 47th Street SE over the past 10 years, from Evergreen Way to Black Forest Lane.

A hill on 47th Street reduces visibility for drivers and adds to the danger. It forces those in the area wishing to access Forest Park from the south do so by walking along the street.

The other issue in the area is the current lack of bicyclists actually using the revamped intersection. I see far more pedestrians on 47th Street SE than bicyclists. And sidewalks are few and far between in the area.

One of the questions addressed on the project page is: “Why is the City building this in this location? There don’t appear to be any bicyclists riding here.”

The answer the city has is that it has data showing residents are interested in riding bikes, but hesitant to do so in areas where biking infrastructure doesn’t exist.

In other words, if you build it, cyclists will come.

At the moment, 1% of Everett’s commuting population uses a bike. The target audience for the change is the other 99%.

Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jordyhansen.