Safety work finally begins on stretch of Rainier Avenue

Safety work is finally beginning along a stretch of Rainier Avenue South after years of crashes and complaints.

On Thursday, Seattle transportation workers reprogrammed traffic lights at five intersections to give pedestrians who are crossing the street a head start of between three and seven seconds before cars get a green light.

"That allows pedestrians to be in the crosswalk and be seen by vehicles before they're allowed to go," said Jim Curtin, of the Seattle Department of Transportation.

In August, workers will refresh crosswalks between South Kenny and South Henderson streets.

Next summer, they'll repaint the street, creating bus and turn lanes, which will slow traffic.

The work was supposed to be have been done at the end of 2018, but now it won't be finished until mid-2020.

Why is it taking so long?

"There's a lot of different moving pieces out there," Curtin said. "We have to make sure, first and foremost, that transit remains an attractive way to get around."

Curtin said the city has to be careful painting bus lanes because of the overhead trolley lines that power the buses.

"We need to make sure, if we're moving where the buses roll down the street, that it aligns nicely with the trolley wires," Curtin said.

After a series of crashes, the city reworked the section of Rainier Avenue through Columbia City in 2015, but the stretch to the south was largely unchanged.

In 2018, three children were hurt when they were hit in an intersection.

Earlier this year, a cyclist died while crossing Rainier Avenue.

The city plans to slow traffic and install more crosswalks in a third phase of work from South Henderson Street to the Renton city line.

City officials expect that project to get underway next year.

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