SEATTLE, Wash. — The city asked consultants to recommend a new Traffic Incident Management plan after a fish truck tipped over and gridlocked Seattle for hours.
But even more routine crashes can cause a major backup.
To avoid gridlock in the future, Mayor Murray says first responders are already operating under a new set of priorities when crashes happen.
“Before this review, we prioritized private property over traffic. It is now the policy of the city to prioritize traffic over private property,” the mayor said.
The plan includes just pushing vehicles to the side of the road as soon as everyone is safe.
And the city may offer free towing to clear the roads more quickly.
“Move the vehicle to the next safe location, a parking lot or whatever and that point the owner can get their own tow. But it moves the vehicle out of the roadway and allows the resumption of traffic flow at that point," said former Washington State Patrol Chief Annette Sandberg, who was hired to be a consultant for the city.
Inside the Transportation Department’s operations center, staffers can call up pictures from 200 cameras to keep track of the roads.
“It's this quick clearance, the rapid response to traffic incidents, that's critical so that we can keep the city moving,” said Transportation Director Scott Kubly.
In 2002, the city had its own incident response vehicles, like the Washington State Department of Transportation does now.
They are not part of the city’s new plan, but accidents will be studied to see if they are worth the expense.
KIRO
