An earlier car accident at the intersection of 24th Ave NW and NW 65th St has left quite a mess in the road.
By the time we arrived, fire and police had already left the scene, but SpecialDark tweeted us, “witnessed an accident on 65th and 24th. Everyone seems ok. police en route.” and Capt.Jeff wrote in the forum, “Just drove past. Very bad scene. EMS removed roof of car with jaws of life. Debris all over road.”
So if you’re driving through that intersection later today and see this mess, it’s from this morning’s accident. (Thanks Silver, SpecialDark, Capt.Jeff & Allison!)
Car accident aftermath is a mess
![](https://www.myballard.com/wp-content/uploads/My-Ballard-ad-1.png")
Does this intersection seem to have more accidents than most?
I don't think so.
what is that stuff on the road anyway? I'm assuming it was used to put out the fire? Should I be concerned that my pet salmon will soon be eating it?
I hate this intersection. It is so dangerous. It makes my spidey senses tingle everytime I have to drive or walk by!
It's usually an oil treatment that they put down like that. It sucks up the oil and locks it into the material for later cleaning. Usually by a sweep of some sort. Its to help prevent the fuids usually released from cars involved in the larger scale bang up's from getting into the drain system.
I see a lot of close calls there with folks traveling west on 65th and trying to turn right on red onto 24th. It's impossible to see clearly to the south, and northbound folks are usually flying on 24th trying to beat the light.
I wonder if that's what happened.
I *hate* that intersection. People go too fast down 24th and there is no left turn light onto 65th.
That intersection, along with too many in Ballard, has signals from the 70's or later. There definately needs to be a simple turn arrow there each way. There was yet another crash at 80th + 8th NW too the other day. Same thing at that intersection. No dedicated turn arrow. What's worse is 80th @ Aurora. Still nothing done there either. In talking to SDOT a few years back, I was told there “wasn't enough bodily injury” at 65th + 2oth. I guess we still need a few heads to roll and blood/guts all in a picture and on you tube. Then perhaps it's “real”. Until then, these are dangerous areas that allow 1 vehicle to turn with a few running a red light. Hmmm? More cameras coming too? Much easier to just bring these into the new millenium isn't it with a simple arrow?
In my opinion, the worst intersection in the neighborhood is heading south on 24th trying to cross Market at the light. The right lane should be “right turn only”. Too many Type A's try to jump past the folks in the “straight” lane, with lots of near misses on the other side. It needs to be fixed.
So, SDOT needs to see blood splattered all over Smokin' Pete's windows before they might alter the signal, add a left arrow, whatever. Ugh. Bad for the “blood donor”, cars and people involved, etc. How awful.
Totally agree.
Most people seem to miss that a right lane “appears” at 56th. I think the Traffic Diet they put on 24th is one of the dumbest things. One of its key accmplishments is to push more activity into a smaller space. I don't think it makes people go slower, just jams it all together.
Not sure I do. The other lanes share duty as left turn lanes, and do so at the expense of those who wish to go straight. Of course there are those who poorly time their right turn on red from Eastbound Market to Shilshole opposite 24th too. Feels like it often happens as people get the green heading south from 24th to Shilshole and suddenly their is a massive race to get to Shilshole.
Honestly, I think many of the intersections in Ballard are screwed up.
I drive through this intersection daily & don't have any problems with it. I agree that the southbound lanes on 24th Ave at Market should be adjusted to one left turn lane, one straight lane & one right turn only lane. Folks turning left sit in the middle lane & slow up folks trying to go straight. Then people try to speed through on the right lane to go straight & then merge left past the intersection.
Please don't complain about the intersections in Ballard. Yes, some of them are awful, a few are quite dangerous. But if you get the city to take an interest, they are only going to screw things up and make them worse – a LOT worse. Don't believe me? Look at the intersections they have taken an interest in recently:
24th & Market. Dumb and dumber, they made a functional intersection more dangerous.
Leary & 17th. Have you ever seen a more confusing “fix”?
Honestly, all my life I have believed (strongly) in government as a force for bettering our lives. But everything I see from the local idiots in this town make be wish they would just go away and leave us alone, since everything local government touches just gets worse. I am *not* a knee-jerk, anti-government, right-wing whacko (politically about as far from that as you could get), but seeing the monumental idiocy of everything that Seattle city government touches makes me understand where those nut-jobs are coming from.
Before the local government can do any good, they need to learn how to stop making things worse, and they have not learned that yet. After watching one screw-up after another living here for the past 25 years, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that our lives would be a lot better if the local government simply stopped doing ANYTHING. Local government involvement only makes our lives worse (yes, that really sucks, but it's been proven to me over and over again). This city is run by people who are either complete morons or corrupt (or both).
Really, if you think the intersections are bad now, just wait until local government does a “study” and they implement a “solution.” You'll be wishing for the good old days.
I think making the middle lane straight through only would help. The reason some people take the right lane is because there are so many left turners in the middle lane. It is usually possible to merge left onto Shileshole in a space left open by a left turner.
If the middle lane were straight through only then traffic would move much more quickly through the intersection.
Ooops, I forgot that buses turn left from the middle lane. Could the middle lane be designated straight through only except for buses?
You are working from the erroneous assumption that the city wants traffic to flow smoothly. If they cared about that at all, a lot of things would be different.
I agree that making that southbound middle lane straight-through only would be an improvement. I'm sure it'll never happen because the city wants to make life as miserable as possible for anyone who dares to drive a (gasp!) car.
The answer here is clearly a guerilla organization for cars kind of like Critical Mass. All 24th needs is a mass of “drivers” who would suddenly converge on the entire street, and like an Automotive Insurgency, just drive however the f*ck they wanted.
The surest way to make roads and intersections safer would be for all users (drivers, cyclists, pedestrians) to actually pay attention to what they're doing, slow down a bit, minimize distractions (cell phone, cigarette, GPS, latte, iPod, exaggerated conversational hand movements, etc.), and show some common courtesy. It's easy to blame the road but it rarely presents hazards that aren't avoidable with a bit of caution.
You radical, you! What?! Take responsibility for our own actions?! That is UNAMERICAN. I want to blame and sue somebody.
I agree that Ballard has a lot of dangerous intersections. That's why I drive so cautiously. You have to, or you wind up getting hit by a crazy driver, or hitting a crazy bicyclist.
I wonder if that's where the Ballard-driver stereotype comes from? The need for reasonable people to drive extra-cautious?
I thought the problem stems from the fact that people already drive however the f*ck they want…and the sense that they are way more important than everyone else.
as of late, yes.
i was told the same thing about traffic circles. there needs to be more bodily injury before one can be considered.
ditto!
do you honestly think drivers would read the markings on the street or follow the directional signage?
As the Church Lady said “isn't that special”. LOL. Time for a group to form
or a letter campaign or such. Dontcha think?
I completely agree. I've said it before, but I can't think of a more road-rage-inducing intersection in town than 24th and Mkt.
Exactly. Well put.
The intersections near Trader Joe's can be a pain in the neck too. Drivers heading east on NW 45th and NW 46th are always zipping along too fast. Maybe they're trying to avoid the church of Ernst Hardware?
Hey! Americans have the right to be selfish and worry about themselves only.
We already have that. It's called rush hour.
That is the intersection where the bycyclist lost his life last year. I see accidents there pretty frequently. It is always the left turn that causes the problem and that is usually drivers traveling on 65th trying to enter 24th. Someone comes around the turning vehicle and runs into the other turning vehicle coming the other direction. You all know how it goes. The only thing to be done is be careful and DONT TRY TO BEAT THE YELLOW LIGHT.
yeah, responsibility to others IS over-rated, it hasn't gotten this country anywhere. Just think what would be possible if we did less, or even nothing, to benefit anyone but ourselves. Now that's something to ponder.
Not to change the subject…er, back to the subject, but has anyone heard how the people are who were in this morning's accident? I drove by there just as the aid car was pulling away, saw the massive tangle of what was left of the red car and can't imagine how anyone could live through that. My thoughts are with all involved…hope they'll be ok.
When I drove by at 4:30 PM, the mess (oil treatment) had been cleaned up. If I hadn't just read this posting on MyBallard, I wouldn't have known about the wreck.
I drive through this intersection multiple times a day. Left from 24th onto 65th heading East is hard (but patience helps) and right from 65th to 24th heading North is hard… again, patience helps.
Name
One bit of evidence, please?
What's confusing about 17th and Leary?
What was 24th and Market before and what did the city do to make it worse?
Offer one or two examples, please….
Straw dogs, name…. why in the world do you think that 'the city' wants traffic to flow unsmoothly? What would be the point?
Isn't most everything that's done in roadways done to make traffic flow more smoothly?
Have an example where the city did something intentionally to make traffice move less smoothly? Have you ever talked to one of the City's traffic engineers about an intersection?
Evidence my friend.
Methinks that right turn on red, for traffic heading east on NW 65th, at the intersection with 24th NW, should be made verboten. Too many of us feel that the right turn on red is a god given right, to be done as a little slide through an intersection. Sight lines looking northward at that intersection, particularly, and the speed of vehicles coming downhill on 24th NW make this very unsafe.
Think about it for a minute. OK, now think about your right turns on red. OK, do you stop, look left and right, look for peds, then proceed?…..or do most of us look left, for oncoming traffic, and kind of 'slide' through the intersection….well, if we do, we're law breakers. Ditto, any of us that drive above the speed limit anywhere.
Let's get back to being law abiding Ballard citizens, slow down, look out for each other, and know that we'll get where we're going soon enough. What's the rush…?
A general traffic question from someone new to the area:
Where are the stop signs? I live between 24th and 32nd and a few intersections have rotaries but most have nothing. Given that in my area one road isn't any wider than another, I have no idea who is supposed to have the right of way so I slow as I come to each of them. I just saw someone the other day fly by going at least 40 north on 30th though without stopping. I feel really stupid asking this, but I swear where I used to live intersections without stop signs or yield signs didn't exist!
If it's any consolation the head of SDOT resigned. Maybe after a committee is formed to study a replacement and we do get someone on the job that can pass the committee and yet be good at the job we might see some change for the better around here.
Open your eyes and slow down people.
Person who gets there first has right of way or if you get there roughly the same time then the vehicle to the right has right of way, right?
Nobody should be going through those neighborhood streets at 40mph.
If two people get there at the same time it's the person to the right. I slow at each – especially because of the idiots who drive way too fast. Here's the yield rule explained by a State Patrol trooper:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/1…
I live north and west of this intersection and avoid it going eastbound. I take 67th (nice and wide) to 24th and then turn south. Much better viewing of southbound speeders from there.
As a cyclist, I went through there tonight and worried about getting a flat—much small debris still left there. Hopefully it will get cleaned up more completely soon. Anyone know whom to call about this?
I also hope the people involved are OK and recover physically and psychologically soon.
Instead of spending money on signals maybe they should do a better job of handing out licenses. There are way too many people behind the wheel who shouldn't be. If you want to decrease crashes the answer isn't signals, signs and writing traffic tickets. The answer is better driver training and tougher licensing. Keep in mind we here in the USA have more traffic lights, traffic signs and our cops right more tickets than they do over in Europe yet the Euros have fewer injuries and crashes for the same number of miles driven. The difference is that in Europe they don't hand out licenses to every mouth breather with a pulse like we do here in America.