Wonderful guerrilla traffic circle at N 143rd & Corliss Ave N

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Mark H and Jan P

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Jun 8, 2025, 10:42:38 AMJun 8
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Hello,

FYI, we returned home after a short trip to find this lovely traffic circle in our neighborhood at N 143rd St. & Corliss Ave N. We have no idea who made it.  

Because of construction, 1st Ave NE has been closed off at N. 143rd St (at Lakeside High School) and many cars have been speeding on N 143rd and then turning right on Bagley Ave N - going through this intersection at high speeds.  


Positive developments:  a pedestrian island and what looks like a push-button pedestrian crossing light is in construction at Corliss Ave N & N 145th St. as part of the N 145th St. changes.  A very wide shareware  / sidewalk on the north side of N 145th from at least Corliss to I-5 is also in process.

Now we need Corliss Ave N to become a Neighborhood Greenway from N 130th to N 145th in the next few months! 


We also heard that construction of the non-motorized bridge over I-5 at N 148th (accessed from 1st Ave NE) to connect to the Shoreline South light rail station will begin soon and take about 1 1/2 years to complete.


Jan Peterson and Mark Hammarlund


IMG_8997.jpeg

Gordon Padelford

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Jun 18, 2025, 7:36:46 PMJun 18
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What a fun tactical urbanism project! has it been making traffic safer at the intersection? 
 
-Gordon

Executive Director
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways


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Alice Lockhart

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Jun 18, 2025, 7:55:41 PMJun 18
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That's a great question, and if someone can reply, can the answer include impact on bikes?  In the Greenwood area where I cycle, the blue planters commonly have 2 pretty big down-sides: 1) they create great private parking for home-ownerers, and 2) they narrow the street in such a way that cars trying to pass bikes heading in the same direction can come close to side-swiping the unsuspecting cyclist, who twice has been me.

Gary Yngve

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Jun 18, 2025, 9:04:11 PMJun 18
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"they narrow the street in such a way that cars trying to pass bikes heading in the same direction"

I think here the right strategy is to control the lane to make such a side-swipe pass impossible (which shouldn't be much further left than as needed to stay out of doorzone), or pull aside at an alley or gap in parked cars to let them pass.  
You really cannot fix stupid, so car drivers are going to try to squeeze by because their reptilian brains are in such a hurry.  Practically, many cyclists can stay ahead of the cars anyway, because they can go faster than a car through the roundabout.  Downside of controlling the lane is some aggro driver will honk and rage on you, but personally I prefer that to getting side-swiped.

Gary Yngve

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Jun 18, 2025, 9:05:47 PMJun 18
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i'd personally like signs like "cars yield to bikes/peds" or "cars wait until safe to pass bikes/peds" to reinforce what should be proper behavior on side streets, especially the Healthy Streets / Greenways

Mark and Jan

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Jun 18, 2025, 11:27:47 PMJun 18
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The traffic circle planters have definitely slowed down car traffic and many neighbors have commented on how much safer the intersection is. 

Unfortunately, there are very few bikes on Corliss Ave N,  so I can’t address a bike experience.  

Jan Peterson

On Jun 18, 2025, at 6:04 PM, Gary Yngve <gary....@gmail.com> wrote:


"they narrow the street in such a way that cars trying to pass bikes heading in the same direction"

I think here the right strategy is to control the lane to make such a side-swipe pass impossible (which shouldn't be much further left than as needed to stay out of doorzone), or pull aside at an alley or gap in parked cars to let them pass.  
You really cannot fix stupid, so car drivers are going to try to squeeze by because their reptilian brains are in such a hurry.  Practically, many cyclists can stay ahead of the cars anyway, because they can go faster than a car through the roundabout.  Downside of controlling the lane is some aggro driver will honk and rage on you, but personally I prefer that to getting side-swiped.

On Wed, Jun 18, 2025 at 4:55 PM Alice Lockhart <aliceel...@gmail.com> wrote:
That's a great question, and if someone can reply, can the answer include impact on bikes?  In the Greenwood area where I cycle, the blue planters commonly have 2 pretty big down-sides: 1) they create great private parking for home-ownerers, and 2) they narrow the street in such a way that cars trying to pass bikes heading in the same direction can come close to side-swiping the unsuspecting cyclist, who twice has been me.

On Wed, Jun 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM Gordon Padelford <gor...@seattlegreenways.org> wrote:
What a fun tactical urbanism project! has it been making traffic safer at the intersection? 
 
-Gordon

Executive Director
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways


On Sun, Jun 8, 2025 at 7:42 AM 'Mark H and Jan P' via NW Greenways <greenwood-phi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Hello,

FYI, we returned home after a short trip to find this lovely traffic circle in our neighborhood at N 143rd St. & Corliss Ave N. We have no idea who made it.  

Because of construction, 1st Ave NE has been closed off at N. 143rd St (at Lakeside High School) and many cars have been speeding on N 143rd and then turning right on Bagley Ave N - going through this intersection at high speeds.  


Positive developments:  a pedestrian island and what looks like a push-button pedestrian crossing light is in construction at Corliss Ave N & N 145th St. as part of the N 145th St. changes.  A very wide shareware  / sidewalk on the north side of N 145th from at least Corliss to I-5 is also in process.

Now we need Corliss Ave N to become a Neighborhood Greenway from N 130th to N 145th in the next few months! 


We also heard that construction of the non-motorized bridge over I-5 at N 148th (accessed from 1st Ave NE) to connect to the Shoreline South light rail station will begin soon and take about 1 1/2 years to complete.


Jan Peterson and Mark Hammarlund


<IMG_8997.jpeg>

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