There's a number to associate with Aurora Avenue. And it's not 99.
It's 46.
That's the average number of monthly collisions on Aurora Avenue (Battery St. Tunnel to N 145th St.), based on a collision analysis by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The study recorded a total number of 1581 collisions on the corridor between April 2005 to March 2008. And it's this dangerous reality that prompted over 40 neighborhood residents to join together with business owners and government agencies for an Aurora-focused traffic safety task force in the fall of 2008.
Now this task force is moving into its next phase. The Aurora Traffic Safety Project is an attempt "to reduce collisions on Aurora using near-term, low-cost solutions through engineering, education, and enforcement efforts."
Or, more simply, "to make Aurora a safer, friendlier road."
You are invited to be a part of launching the project at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 18 at Bagley Elementary School at 7821 Stone Avenue North. The launch gathering will be preceded by a walk to Bagley, beginning at 8:15 a.m. at either N 80th or N 86th St. The walk, which hopes to draw attention to safety on Aurora, will include a chicken, a bee, and an accordionist. Don't worry you won't have to wear the chicken costume!
Contact Jim Curtain with the Seattle Department of Transportation at 206.684.8874 for more information.
