Admiral Way SW between SW Olga Street and the West Seattle Bridge

To improve pedestrian safety when crossing Admiral Way SW , the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) completed a series of changes between SW Olga Street and the West Seattle Bridge.

SDOT installed a new traffic signal, made vehicle circulation and pedestrian accessibility improvements, and removed three unsignalized marked crosswalks. These improvements were completed in February 2007.

SDOT completed a technical analysis of the marked crosswalks along this section of Admiral Way SW and determined that, because of the distance between signalized crosswalks and the destinations served at SW Olga Street (the Belvedere Viewpoint and bus stops), a new pedestrian crosswalk signal was necessary at SW Olga Street.

In order to install the pedestrian crosswalk signal, traffic circulation was modified at the Belvedere viewpoint so that vehicles now travel only one-way, northbound. A curb bulb was also constructed to provide for a fully accessible relocated bus zone at the northbound stop at SW Olga Street . Metro transit removed the bus zone at SW Hanford Street but the bus zone at SW City View Street remains.

While legal crosswalks exist at every intersection, regardless of whether they are marked or not, the marked crosswalks at SW Hanford St, SW City View St and the West Seattle Bridge off-ramp no longer meet federally established guidelines that seek to ensure pedestrians are crossing the street in the safest locations.

The alternatives considering for improving the marked crosswalks at SW Hanford St and SW City View St were reducing the number of travel lanes or, like at SW Olga St, installing a traffic signal. However, given the importance of Admiral Way SW as a motor vehicle travel route, SDOT could not recommend a reduction in the number of travel lanes at this time. These locations also failed to meet federal standards for the installation of a pedestrian signal, which require counts of 100 pedestrians an hour for a four-hour period or 190 pedestrians in a single hour.

The additional marked crosswalk was at the end of the West Seattle Bridge off-ramp at SW Spokane Street , where it meets Admiral Way SW. It was a remnant of previously completed work done on the West Seattle Bridge and led to nowhere, thus it was removed.

The preferred pedestrian crossing of this section of Admiral Way SW is now at the new signal at SW Olga Street, or under the West Seattle Bridge on Avalon Way SW.