Today is the first in a series with the aim of highlighting areas of improvement that Aurora Ave North desperately needs. Our logo suggests 99 problems and has piqued my curiosity; how many problems does Aurora actually have? I aim to find out.
Have you ever witnessed someone standing in the middle of Aurora, in what appears to be a gamble of life and death as they attempt to cross the street? “Why can’t they just use the crosswalk, it’s just a short walk away?” I’ve uttered this question to myself countless times as someone attempts to navigate crossing the seven lane highway.
At present, there are 21 designated crossings across the over 9 mile stretch of Aurora Ave N. This includes two bridges with stairs that cannot be crossed if using any kind of wheeled device. Some of these crossings can be quite far apart, with the longest span between crosswalks being almost 5 miles from Harrison St. to N 68th St. There are a few on/off ramps through Fremont and Wallingford that can technically be used by pedestrians to go around and underneath Aurora Ave, but that can be an added 10+ minutes of travel time just to find a place to “safely” cross the road. By comparison, adding this much extra driving time to a commute just to cross the road would be an unreasonable ask . Unfortunately for anyone needing to cross Aurora and not traveling by car, there are few (if any in some sections) safe places to cross. However, pedestrians are legally allowed cross the road all over Aurora even if there isn’t a crosswalk painted on the ground; and are often encouraged to do so.
No crossing signs at N 84th St. and Aurora Ave N.
Washington State defines that all intersections are crosswalks according to RCW 46.61.235 (for a legalese-to-layman translation, see https://www.coluccio-law.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-washington-state-crosswalk-law/). When traveling north from downtown, once you reach the end of the concrete jersey barrier (such as on N 50th St), pedestrians can legally cross at any point where a neighborhood street opens to Aurora unless it specifically says not to (at N 84th St, for example). Herein lies the problem; Aurora’s unsafe crossings. The following example is, in my opinion, the worst offense.
Cutouts and curb cuts for unmarked crossings at N 101st St. and Aurora Ave N
A marked crosswalk exists at N 100th St and just one block away, curb cuts are present for ADA compliance and accessibility. Even worse is that cutouts exist in the curb that runs along the center of Aurora for pedestrians to pass through. This section through Oak Tree Village has a few of these and more exist along Aurora. Why were these curb cuts installed and configured this way? There are no indicators to drivers that pedestrians cross at this spot yet this appears to encourage people to cross here.
I was uninformed not knowing sooner about how the state defines unmarked crosswalks. When I moved here a decade ago, that was not something I was required to know to get a driving license. When I’m crossing Aurora on foot to catch the E Line bus or on my ebike, cars don’t stop when I’m waiting to cross. I either have to dart across the road when there is a break, or I have to find the nearest crosswalk.
While there is a signaled intersection with a crosswalk one block away from N 101st St., crossings are significantly worse further south and to the north where the distance between crosswalks increases. No crosswalk exists in the half-mile distance between N 135th St. and N 145th St., nor is the sidewalk complete. Residents of the DESC facility would need to walk roughly a quarter mile largely without a sidewalk, to reach the Alibertos across the street if only using the marked crosswalks.
The route from DESC Mary Pilgrim to Alibertos Jr. in Google Maps
I don’t blame drivers for not stopping. Many likely don’t know about unmarked crosswalks. I don’t blame people for trying to cross. They are legally in the right and they are not presented with safer options and in some cases, the road and sidewalk configuration put them into a dangerous situation. I’m angry with our city and state who have left us with an unsafe situation for everyone.
The solution to this is not simple. Putting in stop signs and painting crosswalks at every intersection could help but does not inherently make these intersections safer. Aurora Ave N is designated as a part of the State Route 99 highway and pedestrians will still be at the mercy of the high speeds that cars currently travel down Aurora Ave. In the short term, additional signals and paint in places such as the area between N 135th St. and N 145th St. could improve visibility and awareness for drivers, but should not be thought of as a guaranteed solution. In 2022, SDOT found that 55% of pedestrian collisions along Aurora Ave N occur at intersections, with 45% occurring between intersections (https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/SDOT/BoardsCommittees/SPAB/220608%20Aurora%20SPAB.pdf). What the data ultimately tells us is that there is a negligible difference in safety no matter where pedestrians cross Aurora; and that a solution will not be found by following the status quo.
I’ll end this post with a question to which the answer should inform how we might consider fixing this. Is North Aurora a neighborhood (or part of a community) or is it a highway? Right now it is trying and failing miserably to be both.