Kristine Scoville of Everett asks: “I am concerned about the intersection of 132nd Street SE and Seattle Hill Road. At this intersection eastbound Highway 96 turns left from 132nd onto Seattle Hill Road. You are also able to make a legal U-turn to access the strip mall on the corner. But drivers who are turning right from Seattle Hill Road onto 132nd do not pay attention and yield to the people making U-turns. It slows down those turning left, especially at peak traffic times. It is just an accident waiting to happen. Is there a way to not allow right turns when there is a left turn arrow?”
Tom Pearce of the Washington State Department of Transportation responds: “After hearing about Kristine’s concerns, our traffic engineers checked the intersection and agreed changes are necessary.
“First, we looked at the site and found trees were obscuring the sign that reminds drivers on southbound Seattle Hill Road that they must yield to drivers making U-turns on SR 96. Our crews recently trimmed back the branches so now the sign is much more visible.
“Second, later this summer our crews will remove some of the center curbing along the eastbound SR 96 left turn lane so vehicles will be able to turn left directly into the driveway of the shopping center on the northwest corner. This will eliminate the need for most U-turns. After we remove the curbing, vehicles leaving the shopping center at that driveway still will be required to turn right onto westbound SR 96.
“We would consider restricting right turns on a red light only after determining the changes we’re making now have not improved the situation and looked other possible solutions. However, we believe our work later this summer will resolve the issue.”
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