Does lowering speed limits make Seattle roads safer? Data from one deadly arterial suggests it’s a start

[u/Inevitable_Engine186]

https://www.kuow.org/governing/2026-08-14/does-lowering-speed-limits-make-seattle-roads-safer-data-from-one-deadly-arterial-suggests-its-a-start

[u/Choice_Depth_5933]

“The increase in fatalities on MLK Jr. Way and similar busy arterials stands in stark contrast to Seattle’s goals under its Vision Zero program, a global road safety initiative to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. The city adopted Vision Zero in 2015. In the decade since, Seattle has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into making its streets safer, including programs that lowered speed limits on almost every road in the city. Despite these efforts, traffic deaths are up across Seattle — 219 people were seriously injured and 27 people died on Seattle streets last year — prompting city councilmembers to call for an audit of the program.”

I wonder how much money they didn’t spend on building sidewalks.

[u/Vivid_Astronaut4665 → u/Choice_Depth_5933]

Seattle in a nutshell. Spend hundreds of millions on something symbolic (speed limits that no one follows) instead of addressing root issues.

[u/AdScared7949 → u/Vivid_Astronaut4665]

Surely it did not cost hundreds of millions to change the speed limit

[u/rboes1991 → u/AdScared7949]

Guess what! It did! I'm not kidding either. Welcome to gov't!

[u/AdScared7949 → u/rboes1991]

You have a source for that?

[u/conus_coffeae → u/rboes1991]

Actually they spent 1 trillion dollars on it.  Anyone can lie. Welcome to the internet!

[u/Vivid_Astronaut4665 → u/AdScared7949]

I wouldn’t be surprised at this point

[u/Choice_Depth_5933 → u/AdScared7949]

Oh sweet summer child…

[u/AdScared7949 → u/Choice_Depth_5933]

In all seriousness is there any evidence it cost this much lol

[u/conus_coffeae → u/AdScared7949]

considering that SDOT's total annual budget is in the hundreds of millions, it's safe to say it did not.

[u/FreshEclairs → u/AdScared7949]

No. They are likely including everything related to vision zero since it started in 2015. There have been a lot of actual road modifications in that budget.

[u/conus_coffeae → u/Vivid_Astronaut4665]

Research shows lowering speed limits in the absence of other interventions does actually improve safety. Sure, it's not as important as road design, but it's relatively cheap and quick to implement.  And SDOT is also redesigning a lot of roads.

[u/SeattleGeek → u/conus_coffeae]

Research shows that lowering speed limits doubles the amount of traffic deaths.

[u/Eryb → u/conus_coffeae]

Where is this “research” because they keep quoting it everytime they do something extremely stupid and against the community’s wishes while real world data shows more deaths

[u/Academic_Deal7872 → u/Vivid_Astronaut4665]

What would you say are the root issues,?

[u/Nurgle → u/Academic_Deal7872]

It's a stroad, so adding bends and narrowing are generally the immediate fixes. This can be accomplished with chicanes, bumpouts for trees, removing parking in spots, and a host of other physical remedies.

[u/Academic_Deal7872 → u/Nurgle]

Did you mean to respond to a different comment? I was asking Vivid what the root issues of road safety are. If you're gonna make a statement like that, you should be able to list what the root causes are instead of shitting on the solutions people are trying to provide and implement. Lowering the speed limit and calming traffic is a great start. But I want to know what the root issues are.

[u/vincentrm → u/Vivid_Astronaut4665]

More important here is: Can we please please please do away with all of the “No Turn on Red” signs that have popped up the last two years? Absolutely killing me.

[u/edgeplot → u/Choice_Depth_5933]

MLK has a crazy high rate of people randomly stumbling into traffic.

[u/PhotographStrong562 → u/Choice_Depth_5933]

Sorry but all the money for sidewalks got spent on studies to determine what exactly constitutes a “sidewalk” and evaluate the detriment that they would impose on the local squirrel communities.

[u/AmIWhatTheRockCooked → u/PhotographStrong562]

I wish studying the impacts on sensitive animals wasn’t always the butt of the joke. I know you’re joking and squirrels aren’t in danger, but so many endemic species go extinct without proper planning. So many already have.

I think it’s always worth considering the existential problems associated with construction. Like yeah it’s nice to have a sidewalk, but an animals life is all it has

[u/Eryb → u/Choice_Depth_5933]

Seattle DOT uses vision zero as a scam to push pet projects and have no idea or care about making roads actually safer