Report a Concern

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Intersection Sight Distance Flyer

Staff Contact

Tobin Bennett-Gold, City Traffic Engineer
Email: tbennettgold@kenmorewa.gov

Traffic

Traffic and transportation are a part of our lives every day, and Kenmore’s transportation network supports safe and effective travel for many modes of transportation, and travel for many different purposes. The City works hard to be proactive about identifying opportunities to improve the safety and effectiveness of its transportation environment, but sometimes hearing from residents is the first way an area of concern might be brought to the City’s attention. Kenmore receives a great many service requests related to safety and operational concerns on its public roads and multi modal facilities, and although the engineering team is often not able to provide a detailed response to each inquiry, all service requests are reviewed and prioritized according to their safety and operational impact and resolved as best as possible, as soon as possible, with the resources available.

Safety Concerns

Urgent Safety Concerns

When a service request related to traffic or transportation is received, it is reviewed by staff on the City's engineering team. If the request is determined to be an urgent safety concern, the City will work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Engineering staff may reach out to the reporting party if more information is required and contact information is provided. If review by engineering staff determines that the request does not present an immediate and critically urgent safety concern, the request may be handled by one of the City's proactive programs. If the request is not applicable to one of the City's proactive programs, it will be prioritized according to its safety impact.

PROACTIVE PROGRAM - Concerns Regarding Pedestrian Safety and Accessibility

The City of Kenmore has two programs that address pedestrian safety and accessibility: The Pedestrian Facilities Plan and the ADA Transition Plan.

Pedestrian Facilities Plan: With the large need for sidewalks with the City, areas were identified as high priority for constructing pedestrian facilities. The plan identifies 159 projects proposed throughout the City. Projects were identified by road type, proximity to and influence by schools, proximity to public services, and the number of pedestrian that could potential be served by the project. All identified projects were scored from several criteria and given a priority number. Unfortunately, given the high number of projects and cost involved, the process for building new sidewalks will be slow and heavily dependent upon available funding. As such, the City engineering team look for outside funding sources to help speed along the construction of projects. To be competitive, some projects are pulled out of order as they may rate higher with grant agencies and may get funding. We make every effort to secure funding for the projects in the plan but with limited funds and resources, we cannot address every concern in the short term.

ADA Transition Plan: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan identifies where the existing sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalks, parking, and push buttons (Elements) do not meet accessibility guidelines. The plan looks at the number and type of issues with each Element and assess what needs to be done to bring it into compliance with ADA and then it is assigned a priority. Funding has been approved by the City Council to address these concerns, however, the issues are numerous and funding and resources are limited. Our goal is to address as many concerns as possible every other year based upon the transition plan.

PROACTIVE PROGRAM - Concerns Regarding Crash Risk

The City of Kenmore takes the risk of crashes and the risk of severe or fatal crash injury very seriously. The City’s engineering department evaluates crash risk and crash severity through analysis of the crash history on City streets, as well as through the identification of features which affect crash risk or precursors to crash risk even in areas where severe crashes have not yet occurred, such as elevated travel speeds or frequent pedestrian or cyclist conflicts. Crash history analysis and crash risk analysis are included in the City’s Local Road Safety Plan, which identifies projects which will reduce crash risk and prioritizes those projects in a way that provides the greatest safety improvement with the resources available.

PROACTIVE PROGRAM - Concerns Regarding Travel Speed

The City of Kenmore collects speed and volume data at over 100 locations each year and maintains a detailed database of travel speed and traffic volume data for all major roads and many neighborhood streets as well. This allows the City to monitor its streets proactively for problematic travel speeds and identify opportunities for traffic calming and speed management projects. Many roads throughout Kenmore do have speeds that are higher than is desired; because budget and staff resources are limited, however, the roads that are prioritized for new projects and traffic calming are those that have the greatest risk of speed-related crashes. If there is an issue with problematic travel speeds on a street in Kenmore, it is very likely that the City is already aware of it and working to address the issue as soon as is feasible. If the City receives a service request related to travel speed at a location not near an existing study location, a new study will be scheduled to monitor travel speeds at that location, and travel speed concerns at that location will be prioritized along with all other travel speed concerns throughout the City.

Concerns Regarding Parking Violations

Kenmore is a small town, and generally our police department has at most two patrol vehicles active at any time. It’s impossible for Kenmore’s law enforcement officers to happen across all parking violations on their own, and reporting by residents is immensely helpful in making sure Kenmore’s parking restrictions are enforceable, and that enforcement is able to discourage future violations. Parking violations will not be addressed by engineering measures except at the request of the Kenmore Police Department; enforcement by KPD is always the first step in resolving issues related to parking violations. Parking violations can be reported to the police by following the non-emergency report instructions on our website: https://www.kenmorewa.gov/i-want-to/report-a-concern

Concerns Regarding Sight Lines

Being able to see and be seen by vehicles in the traffic environment is a critical safety factor for all road users, whether exiting a driveway, navigating an intersection, crossing the street, or any number of other areas where there is a potential for conflicting paths with an oncoming vehicle. When a service request regarding sight line concerns is received for a location where no sight distance study has been conducted recently, the City will conduct a study to evaluate whether travel speeds and sight lines are adequate, and, if not, the City will identify what changes need to be made to meet standards for reasonably safe use of the roadway.

Miscellaneous

Signalized Intersections

There are fourteen signalized intersections within the City of Kenmore city limits, and each signal is operated according the unique traffic environment of its specific intersection, and many are coordinated with adjacent signals to improve operational efficiency and reduce delay experienced by drivers. All signals are operated at least in partnership with the City of Kenmore, however ownership and maintenance agency varies from signal to signal:

Location, Ownership, and Maintenance of Traffic Signals
Intersection	Ownership Agency	Maintenance Agency
1. NE 181st St & 61st Av NE	City of Kenmore	WSDOT
2. NE 181st St & 68th Av NE	City of Kenmore	WSDOT
3. NE 181st St & 73rd Av NE	City of Kenmore	WSDOT
4. NE Bothell Wy & 61st Av NE	WSDOT	WSDOT
5. NE Bothell Wy & 68th Av NE	WSDOT	WSDOT
6. NE Bothell Wy & 73rd Av NE	WSDOT	WSDOT
7. NE Bothell Wy & 77th Ct NE	WSDOT	WSDOT
8. NE Bothell Wy & 80th Av NE	WSDOT	WSDOT
9. NE Bothell Wy & 83rd Pl NE	WSDOT	WSDOT
10. NE 175th St & 68th Av NE	City of Kenmore	WSDOT
11. NE 170th St & 68th Av NE	City of Kenmore	King County
12. NE 153rd St & Juanita Dr NE	City of Kenmore	King County
13. NE 155th St & Simonds Rd NE	City of Kenmore	King County
14. NE 145th St & Juanita Dr NE	City of Kenmore	King County

Signal Map

Please Report a Concern if you have any questions or concerns regarding traffic signals in the City of Kenmore. Concerns related to WSDOT-owned signals will be forwarded to WSDOT, or you may reach out to WSDOT at 206-440-4490.

Nonfunctioning Traffic Signals
When a signal is damaged or becomes unpowered for any reason, it may become nonfunctional. A nonfunctioning signal may appear as a flashing red light for all approaches, or as a completely unlit signal. A police officer or traffic signal technician may also manually disable normal signal operation and set the signal to flash red on all approaches. Washington State Law, RCW 46.61.183, specifically addresses intersections with non-functioning lights indicating they shall be considered to be an “All-way stop.” After stopping, the driver shall yield the right of way in accordance with RCW 46.61.180 (1) (vehicles approaching intersections) and 46.61.185 (vehicles turning left).

Street Parking

Washington State Dept. of Transportation (WSDOT)