Seattle street gets a makeover after fatal collision

SEATTLE — Four members of Dan Schulte's family were hit by a suspected drunk driver at a Wedgwood intersection last March. His parents died, his wife and baby son were critically hurt. Complaints rolled in from the neighborhood that Northeast 75th Street wasn't safe.

The Seattle Department of Transportation is making changes. Some of them have been summarized on the Wedgwood Community Council's web site. It reported that instead of two lanes of travel in each direction, there's just one now with a center turn lane from 15th Avenue NE to 35th Avenue NE.

There are also bike lanes on the shoulders where many people used to park. Nick Jenner thinks it's a good idea that will slow drivers down and reduce accidents. He said, "There needs to be a little bit more added precautions." Annette Youssef isn't convinced. It hasn't slowed her down. She said, "I'm used to the fact that there were two lanes, so I will just kind of try to pass people."wed

Bryan Sims questioned whether any changes were really necessary. He said, "It’s kind of senseless to me because that won't keep drunk drivers off the road and that doesn't slow drivers down."

The construction work has continued on evenings and over the weekend. The Ravenna Blog reported that the city is trying to get the project done by the start of school, Sept. 4.

KIRO