Fremont Neighborhood Council received the following response to FNC’s March meeting discussing  pedestrian safety improvements at Stone Way N and N 41st on the eastern edge of Fremont, and FNC’s subsequent letter supporting prompt and effective action on those improvements (emphasis added):

                                                                                                                       4/17/14

Stephanie Pure, Chair, Fremont Neighborhood Council

Dear Stephanie:

I’m writing to follow up on a commitment the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) made to you and the Fremont Neighborhood Council.  When we met in February, neighborhood council members provided a number of suggestions for improving the marked crossing on Stone Way North at North 41st Street, and we committed to providing a formal response.

The suggestion we heard most frequently was for some type of pedestrian-activated signal or flashing beacon to enhance driver awareness of pedestrians crossing the intersection.  I’m pleased to let you know that SDOT, through our Safe Routes to Schools program, will be installing a pedestrian-activated flashing beacon in the intersection.  Our target for installation is this summer, prior to the start of the next school year.  

SDOT and Seattle City Light are also following up on other suggestions made at the meeting, including parking restrictions to improve visibility and changes to street lighting.  These are described on the following page.  I’ve also attached information about our signal warrant review for the intersection, as requested at the February meeting.

Thank you for your help coordinating the flow of information and ideas between the neighborhood council and our department.  This has meant a great deal in facilitating improvements to Stone Way North and North 41st Street.

If you or neighbors have questions regarding the pedestrian-activated flashing beacon or our Safe Routes to School program, a best person to contact would be Brian Dougherty.  Brian’s e-mail is brian.dougherty@seattle.gov  and his phone number is 684-5124.

For questions about the signal warrant analysis work performed by SDOT, please contact Valerie Lee of our Signals Office.  Valerie’s e-mail is valerie.lee@seattle.gov  and her phone number is 684-5246.

If you have other thoughts or questions in general, please feel welcome to contact me directly.

Sincerely,

Mike Morris-Lent, Traffic Operations Engineer, Seattle Department of Transportation, mike.morrislent@seattle.gov

(206) 684-5727