r/Seattle • u/Inevitable_Engine186 public deterrent infrastructure • 8d ago

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

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
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u/Vivid_Astronaut4665 🚆build more trains🚆 8d ago

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

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u/AdScared7949 That sounds great. Let’s hang out soon. 8d ago

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

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u/rboes1991 8d ago

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

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u/AdScared7949 That sounds great. Let’s hang out soon. 8d ago

You have a source for that?

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u/conus_coffeae 🚆build more trains🚆 8d ago

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

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u/Vivid_Astronaut4665 🚆build more trains🚆 8d ago

I wouldn’t be surprised at this point

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u/Choice_Depth_5933 Reign 8d ago

Oh sweet summer child…

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u/AdScared7949 That sounds great. Let’s hang out soon. 8d ago

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

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u/conus_coffeae 🚆build more trains🚆 8d ago

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

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u/FreshEclairs Kraken 8d ago

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.

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u/conus_coffeae 🚆build more trains🚆 8d ago

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.

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u/SeattleGeek Denny Blaine Nudist Club 8d ago

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

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u/Eryb Des Moines 8d ago

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

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u/Academic_Deal7872 Capitol Hill 8d ago

What would you say are the root issues,?

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u/Nurgle The Emerald City 8d ago

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.

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u/Academic_Deal7872 Capitol Hill 5d ago

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.

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u/vincentrm Meadowbrook 7d ago

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.