Building Healthy Communities

After two and a half years, the Rainier Traffic Safety Project is complete. The project was the first of its kind to be implemented in a dense urban corridor and served as a pilot for future projects in similar areas. The project lasted from April 2006 to October 2008 and was funded by the WA Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), WA State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Seattle Department of Transportation. It stretched 7.5 miles from Dearborn Street in the north to city limits in the south.

The goal of the Corridor Traffic Safety Program is to reduce collisions on roads using low-cost, near-term solutions through partnerships with community groups, business, engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency services organizations. The program is locally led and coordinated in each community. Solutions are based on collision analysis related to collision type, weather, person’s age, cause, location, time of year and day, etc. and local stakeholder experiences.

WSDOT compared data from the two year project period to a three year period previous to the project. Key findings include:

· The total number of injuries decreased eight percent
· The total number of collisions decreased by one percent

Read the project summary to learn more about the activities implemented, factors such as major construction along Martin Luther King that could have impacted conditions along the corridor, project results, and lessons learned.

The project team extends their thanks to the 35 member task force including local residents, business associations, non-profits and King County Public Health for their time and dedication.

Project Partners