Council News Release

COUNCIL FOCUSES ON PEDESTRIAN SAFETY

The Council took another step today toward making Seattle a model city for pedestrian safety. The Council voted unanimously to have the City develop a Pedestrian Safety Master Plan that will include education, engineering, and enforcement elements involving City departments including the Seattle Police Department and the Seattle Department of Transportation. Council President Nick Licata, sponsor of the resolution, said, "We are asking the City to take a holistic view of pedestrian safety so all Seattleites can feel safer while walking." There has been an average of 484 vehicle/pedestrian collisions in Seattle annually over the past five years, including an average of 10 fatalities each year, and the Council is committed to reducing this number. Councilmember David J. Della, co-sponsor of the resolution who lost his Chief of Staff Tatsuo Nakata to a pedestrian/vehicle collision this fall, said, "These are not just statistics. This is about saving people's lives." Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck, co-sponsor of the resolution, said, "Pedestrians are no match for a three thousand pound vehicle. We must have a plan to make sure people get around our city safely on foot."

The Pedestrian Master Plan directs the Seattle Department of Transportation to develop an education and enforcement campaign in 2007 that will raise awareness for both pedestrians and drivers of their rights and responsibilities under the law. The Plan will also track the results of the City's first red-light cameras that photograph the license plates of vehicles that disobey traffic signals. Finally the Plan will prioritize improvements for pedestrian infrastructure, mapping their locations and producing cost estimates of the desired work. The resolution is attached below.

Resoultion 30951

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City Council