Seattle proposes street revisions after fatal accident

SEATTLE, Wash. — Four months after two Seattle grandparents were killed by an alleged drunk driver in the city’s Wedgwood neighborhood, the city wants to make safety changes to the street where it happened.

Wednesday morning, Mayor Mike McGinn announced the possible street revisions for a 20-block section of NE 75^th Avenue between 15th and 35^th avenues in North Seattle.

It was at the corner of NE 75^th and 33rd avenues that Judy and Dennis Shulte were hit by a car driven by alleged drunk driver, Mark Mullan.

They were killed while out for a walk with their daughter-in-law, Karina Ulriksen-Schulte and her newborn son Elias, both of whom were severely injured.

After meeting with residents, who were demanding something be done about the road after the fatal crash, the city came up with four possible revisions to the road.

A main theme of the proposals is to re-channelize 75^th, which means making major changes to the lanes of traffic.

One proposal would change 75^th from a four- lane road to a two- lane road.

Other revisions would add a designated center turn lane, bike lanes, or parking on the sides of the street.

The city plans to meet with people in the community in the next few weeks and come up with a consensus for the best plan, so the changes could be made before the start of school in the fall.

KIRO