Yesterday, the third traffic collision in the last two weeks occurred at 24th Ave E and E Lynn St in Montlake’s business district. Whereas the two previous collisions involved cars attempting to cross 24th, this accident involved a cyclist who was riding northbound and turning west onto Lynn.
The cyclist was seriously injured with a broken rib and a deep wound that exposed bones in his back. He was rushed to the hospital. The driver of the car tried to avoid the collision and suffered leg injuries as a result of colliding against the entrance of Café Lago. The vehicle passenger was badly shaken.
Also badly shaken was the front entrance of Cafe Lago. A structural engineer inspected the building for damage and declared it safe. The restaurant remains open, though through the side door until repairs on the main entrance are complete.
Crashes in the Montlake business district (and at Boyer and Interlaken Blvd as well) are frequent and mostly consist of unreported fender-benders. But even these fender-benders sometimes lead to death eventually, as in the case of Jack Brenner, my neighbor, who died from a blood clot months after the accident that caused him to be in a coma two years ago.
The frequency of these crashes and collisions is high but virtually unreported. Police, which have recently been patrolling for speed in the school zone along 24th, can testify to traffic danger in Montlake’s business district.
24th ave E is slated for improvement as part of SDOT’s 23rd Ave E corridor capital project. Unfortunately, our neighborhood will be addressed last, mostly because SDOT has delayed any work in our area until the SR520 replacement project is built.
This is a shame and a travesty. People are getting hurt, school kids and library patrons are put at risk, businesses are struggling to attract customers along a major speedway, and Arboretum visitors have to risk life-and-limb just to reach the Wilcox bridge at the east end of Lynn.
While SR520 is getting “improved”, our main arterial, a virtual highway carrying comparatively low volumes of cars most of the day, but at dangerously high speeds, is not getting any meaningful planning to deal with safety — for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike.
Fixing our traffic situation on 24th Ave E would offer meaningful mitigation for the impact SR520 has on our neighborhood. The Arboretum park, and its many plants and trees, received meaningful mitigation. The Arboretum access ramp will be removed and replaced with new ramps closer to Montlake Blvd (and 24th). We care deeply for the Arboretum. It’s a treasure, but the human beings put at risk by dangerous traffic racing for the highway are at least as important as the trees of the Arboretum.
