Why Is There No Left Hand Turn Signal From NE 45th Street Onto Mary Gates Drive From NE 45th Street, Only An Empty Signal Head?

Intersection with no left-hand turn lane onto
Mary Gates Drive NE from NE 45th Street

Several Laurelhurst Blog readers have emailed about why there is a signal board, but no left hand turn signal for turning left onto Mary Gates Drive from busy NE 45th Street, near Sand Point Way.

This very busy intersection is sometimes referred to as "Five Corners" and is where Union Bay Place NE, Mary Gates Boulevard, NE 45th Street, 35th Avenue NE and Sand Point Way all meet.

One resident wrote:

It's very dangerous turning onto Mary Gates Drive without a left hand turn signal and so many, many cars coming, especially during busy times during the day. We have almost been hit several times by cars going very fast on Sand Point Way through the light. We see a fixture for it, but no signal is there. Do you know what is going on?

 

The Laurelhurst Blog checked with the SDOT Traffic Signals group who said:

We believe you are referring to the westbound to southbound left turn phase on NE 45^th Street.  We think of NE 45^th Street as running East-West.  If that’s the case, there is no issue we know of here.    

We have never had a left turn signal for that turn. Westbound traffic turning left onto Mary Gates has always had to turn on a green ball and yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians in the crosswalk. The sign and left turn lane do “instruct” people in that lane to turn left, but the sign and turn lane by themselves do not indicate that a signal is present or supposed to be present for the left turn. They just tell drivers in that lane that they must turn left as opposed to going straight.

A couple years ago, SDOT rebuilt this intersection, and we made plans to eventually put the westbound left turn phase in, so it could look like the signal head disappeared.   

However, we found issues with the new phase and an incompatibility with the software used to operate the signal controller while testing the signal controller software, so SDOT went ahead with the rebuild without putting in the new phase.  We hope to eventually put in the left turn phase, so the infrastructure has been set up to eventually accommodate it.    

The intersection was built so that at some future date, a left turn signal head could be added relatively easily; this could be giving the appearance of a “missing” signal head. 

If the issue can be fixed, we will then be able to put in the westbound to southbound left turn phase.   In the meantime, the span wires (the wires supporting the signal heads) have been set up to accommodate the westbound left turn phase if and when we can put it in.

The signals run different timing patterns throughout the day, as traffic patterns change.  During the transition between different timing patterns, some phases were being skipped (not being served).  We are hoping that a future revision to the controller software or a fix by the manufacturer will prevent this from happening.

 

In August of 2008, three cameras were installed at "Five Points", after the Laurelhurst Community Club voted unanimously to support neighbors requests as well as a submittal of more than 400 petition signatures, for installation of the cameras at the intersection. LCC requested funding for cameras in September of the previous year. 

New Traffic Signal Equipment For Busy Five Point Intersection At NE 45th Street and Sandpoint Way



 

New traffic signal equipment will be installed between 9-2pm for the next two weeks at the busy "five corners" to enhance the safety.

SDOT writes:

Spiders make the task of stringing line look easy, but replacing the web of wires holding up traffic signals at a complex intersection is anything but.

Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation are installing new equipment at the busy five-way intersection where NE 45th Street meets Sandpoint Way NE near University Village. The wires supporting the traffic signals and the poles at this location were pulling in toward the center of the intersection, causing them to droop more and more because of their old design. This spring a truck hit one of the wires causing further damage and accelerating the need to rebuild the system.  

This location is especially challenging because of the high volume of traffic and because signal lights need to be provided for all five streets meeting at this intersection: Northeast 45th Street, Northeast 45th Place, Sandpoint Way Northeast, Union Bay Place Northeast and Mary Gates Memorial Drive Northeast. There are a total of 15 signal heads compared to the usual 8 to 12 at most intersections.  

The work will require only intermittent lane closures during the next two weeks. Crews will be reaching over lanes with bucket trucks, working mostly between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. with some work at night. When the project is finished, estimated by the end of August, the new equipment will improve safety. The wires will be strung in a better configuration and the position of the signal lights will shift from their current locations, but the operation of the intersection will not change.

 

 

UW Shuts Off "Out Of Control" Sprinkler On Mary Gates Drive Until City Responds To Fix It

Geyser-like sprinkler on Mary Gates Drive and NE 41st Street

on Wednesday night last week

 

 

 

 

 

UW photos showing where the sprinkler is located when shut off



Following our post about the "out of control" sprinkler reported last Wednesday, by a resident on Mary Gates Drive,  near the UW Student and Family Housing, UW Facilities quickly worked to shut it, while they wait for this City owned sprinkler to respond and fix it.

UW Facilities said they had first notified the City over a week ago about the issue and contacted them again last week after our Blog post. 

Howard Nakase, UW Manager of Grounds Operations, told us that the sprinklers are not a UW system so all that they could do was "triage the circumstances.  The City will need to correctly fix the long term issues."

James Boeckstiegel, UW Irrigation Maintenance Mechanic Lead, told us last week:
 

In the interest of safety and water conservation, the UW Irrigation Department has capped and marked the problem sprinkler on Mary Gates Drive.   

Above are two photos:  one showing the marked sprinkler and one reference photo to locate the sprinkler.  It is approximately 55 feet south of the “No Parking Anytime” sign on Mary Gates Drive.

For reference, it is the University of Washington’s policy to try to run their irrigation when traffic (human or vehicular) is not so high.  That is generally between midnight and 6am.   

If a problem does occur such as this one, we have equipment and precautions in place to detect the issue, shut the irrigation down automatically, and notify us via our computerized central control warnings on many of our systems, to preserve safety and prevent water loss. 

Thank you to the neighborhood watch for reporting the problem.  I hope the city of Seattle can deal with it soon.