Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
MUTCD

Seattle Tosses Out Rulebook to Protect Pedestrians

Photo: Michael Smith

Seattle will begin adding safe crosswalks without first assessing if high numbers of pedestrians are going to use them — a direct contradiction of the nation's road design Bible.

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices states that before communities can add a signalized crosswalk — a crosswalk with a traffic light — there must be at least 93 pedestrians that cross at the location every hour. If pedestrian traffic is insufficient, the manual will also allow a signalized crosswalk only if five pedestrians were struck by drivers (think about that) at that location within a year.

In recent years, some progressive transportation engineers have challenged this rule, noting it subordinates pedestrian safety to the speedy flow of car traffic. (Indeed, as transportation planners sometimes joke, you can't determine the need for a bridge by measuring how many people are swimming across the river.)

In Seattle, the city's lead engineer, Dongho Chang, announced that the city was "piloting a new approach" to crossings on its greenway system. The city will add the crosswalk and the signal and then count how many pedestrians cross and see if it reaches the threshold that the MUTCD recommends.

According to Chang, the first experiment — at Ballard Avenue — was successful.

Eventually, some engineers hope, Seattle's experiment will push other cities to try a new approach and, eventually, encourage action by the national committee responsible for updating the MUTCD. It's especially important given the sharp increase pedestrian fatalities in recent years.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Get Thee To Ghent

The Belgian city banned cars from its inner core in 2017 — and it's working!

April 4, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Hit the Brakes

New administrations often reverse policies, but rarely do they go after money already allocated like the Trump administration is doing, Grist reports.

April 4, 2025

US DOT Doesn’t Want to Fund Road Diets Anymore

One of America's largest road safety programs will look "unfavorably" on applications that reduce lane capacity for vehicles – even in urban areas where there's nowhere else to build bike lanes, sidewalk extension, and other sorely-needed infrastructure.

April 3, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Planning Connections in Panther City

Fort Worth's Kelly Porter on the city's city’s history, incredible growth and Texas high-speed rail.

April 3, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Ask for Privacy

Under the Elon Musk administration, private investment might be the only way forward for intercity rail, but it's not as if such ventures have it easy.

April 3, 2025
See all posts