This video shows the rogue 4-way stop in motion
The Seattle Department of Transportation says even though it rushed to remove the rogue E John stop signs, it gets the message from the guerrilla act of street engineering.
“The installation of unauthorized stop signs indicates a desire from some in the community to have additional traffic control at this location,” a SDOT spokesperson tells CHS. “We’ll collect data to understand if stop signs might be a good option at this intersection.”
CHS reported last month on SDOT’s quick de-installation of the latest vigilante act of Capitol Hill streetscape improvement after somebody unofficially added official looking stop signs along E John creating 4-way stops at 13th and 14th Ave where pedestrians are often left waiting to make dangerous crossings.
The data may make a pretty good case. City records show seven reported collisions at 13th and John and 22 at 14th over the past decade. Those include one of the most recent injury crashes late last June and a serious injury to a pedestrian in August of 2023.
Observations from the days the rogue stop signs were in place might also help. This video from Seattle writer and neighborhood organizer Matt Baume shows how drivers and pedestrians seemed to be just fine with the surprise installation. Some did, however, express confusion on social media but that was mostly about the sudden appearance of the signs.
SDOT’s approach on upgrades is a little more slow and deliberate. The rogue E John project follows the 2022 installation of a mostly well executed guerilla crosswalk at Harvard and E Olive Way at another busy intersection where crossing on foot or bike can be nearly impossible. The city also quickly wiped away those markings while reminding citizens that a planned project would eventually make the crossing safer. Last September, a pedestrian was hit by a driver at the intersection where the planned “Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons” crossing system still has not been installed.
If SDOT ultimately decides on officially installing the E John stop signs, you’ll see smaller steps in advance.
“Typically, when the department identifies a need for stop signs through customer request, project design, and observation and data collection, we take several steps,” the SDOT spokesperson said. “First, we mark a stop line and install the sign next to it. Then we place a-frames noting ‘stop sign ahead’ to alert people driving to the operational change.”
“While those walking probably welcomed the slowing of people driving through the intersection, the unexpected appearance of signs did not meet city standards, and signs placed without warnings likely caused confusion,” the SDOT representative tsk tsked.
As for more guerrilla projects, SDOT would prefer if the Capitol Hill Department of Transportation took a break.
“Our goal is to keep the road safe and working well for all travelers and we encourage people to contact us by emailing [email protected] with requests,” the city spokesperson said.
Un-installed (Image: CHS)
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God I wish they’d put a well-lit/flashy pedestrian crosswalk at 14th and John. I know it will never happen because the intersection is at the top of a large hill and that’s against city code but I still dream about it every time I dodge through traffic to get to Safeway.
This is exactly where it is needed. I don’t know anything about city code, but with the hill, the visibility at 14th for both pedestrians and drivers is awful. Something needs to be done to slow things down.
“Neighborhood Organizers” should not be deciding traffic safety, or anything else.
Well, maybe you can complain about The City’s snail pace with getting almost anything done TO THE CITY/Council/SDOT. Much better use of your time than dissing the actions of noble activists who clearly “put a fire under” this important issue where the city has been completely clueless. C’mon “Below Broadway”. This is a life and death issue.
What I dont get is the new curb extensions for pedestrians on E. Thomas east of 15th then not painting crosswalks or putting up crosswalk signs. The easy and cheap part is paint/thermoplastic and signage.
If I stalking traffic signs without permission is now OK, then removing signs should be fine too because “some in the community” want it?
What makes you think it “is now OK”? The city removed the guerrilla signs, after all; neither is this a new phenomenon (look up “Reasonably Polite Seattleites” for another good one).
Removing traffic signs for fun is a sport as old as teenagers, which will probably always be with us: but I don’t think anyone approves of it.
FFS, can all of the old white “guy”s just pipe down with their false equivalents?! Look up “activism”. Lordy.
Maybe if the city would enforce Safeway’s permit conditions to unlock their entrance on 15th and John, fewer people would feel the need to run across a busy arterial west of the signalized intersection ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
100%
I mean, it worked for a giant unsanctioned mural on Pine Street. Put it up and the City caves and leaves it, whether it was initially illegal or not.
I think we all know that the circumstances behind that were extremely EXTREMELY unusual
I will keep walking in front of your cars, and you’ll drive slower if you don’t want a body on your conscience and subsequent criminal record.
I appreciate whoever put up these signs, because whether or not they’re legal, they’re signaling a problem that every pedestrian here knows well.
These should continue to go up everywhere because driving needs to become less convenient in comparison to other modes of transport. There will be no ‘conversion’ of drivers from their ingrained travel habits, even if we build great transit quickly and cheaply. Public transit needs to be built up in conjunction with a complete neutering of auto-based expansion projects. Expecting to drive easily through the densest parts of a city is frankly silly, and our auto infrastructure should be as limited as possible for a plethora of health, safety, climate, aesthetic, and logistic reasons. We need modal filters. We need to start impeding cars speed through our cities yesterday.
Pedestrians are correct in this conflict, period. All other argument to the contrary is displacing blame from the main problem underlying it all…our reliance on individual privately-owned vehicles, which take up valuable land when stored and make so much of our land dangerous when flying down our streets.
I see people blow stop signs in my neighborhood every damn day and a staggering number of auto-totaling collisions just at one local intersection, so I have no sympathy for anyone made to go slower…you know you should.