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The City of Seattle
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An ordinance relating to traffic safety; applying traffic safety best practices such as a Vision Zero Plan, guiding principles or successor policies in exercising traffic administration authority; establishing study, reporting, and prioritization standards; and aligning rulemaking and project delivery with proven safety countermeasures; renumbering Sections 11.14.714 and 11.14.715 of the Seattle Municipal Code as Sections 11.14.720 and 11.14.725; adding a new Section 11.14.716 to the Seattle Municipal Code; and amending Sections 11.16.120, 11.16.180, 11.16.200, 11.16.220, 11.16.340, and 15.70.040 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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Recitals:
The Council is considering CB 121296, CB 121297, and CB 121298, collectively called the SAFER (Safe Accountable Flexible Equitable Responsive) Streets bills, with the goal of increasing the safety, health, and equitable mobility of those who use Seattle roadways for walking, rolling, biking, using a micromobility device, using a wheelchair or other mobility device, riding a motorcycle or moped, or accessing transit. Therefore,
Be it ordained by The City of Seattle as follows:
Section 1. The City finds and declares:
A. A Vision Zero Plan is an effective strategy for significantly reducing traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safety, health, and equitable mobility.
B. A Vision Zero Plan is both proactive and responsive, emphasizing infrastructure and policies that minimize the risk of severe traffic injuries or fatalities, education, and engineering solutions.
C. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) committed to Vision Zero in 2015 and set the goal of ending traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030.
D. As a framework for its implementation of a Vision Zero Plan, SDOT has adopted a Safe System Approach which is centered on multiple, redundant layers of protection to help prevent crashes and to reduce severity when crashes do occur.
E. SDOT’s periodically updated Vision Zero Action Plan, which describes the ways in which the department is working towards the City’s 2030 goal, incorporates both Vision Zero principles and the Safe System Approach.
F. In 2016, there were 25 fatalities on Seattle city streets, including six pedestrians and four bicyclists. In addition, there were 55 serious injury crashes involving pedestrians and 21 involving bicyclists. These numbers are a subset of the total 11,603 crashes on Seattle streets that were reported to the Seattle Police Department.
G. In 2024, the last year for which SDOT’s Annual Traffic Report is available, there were 31 fatalities on Seattle city streets, including ten pedestrians and one bicyclist. In addition, there were 69 serious injury crashes involving pedestrians and 45 involving bicyclists. There were 5,252 crashes where police were dispatched to the scene.
H. Ordinance 127432, passed by the Council in May 2026, established a critical framework for shared streets on designated non-arterial streets and alleys, including reduced vehicle speeds and enhanced protections for pedestrians, bicyclists, and micromobility users, representing an important legislative step toward safer streets for vulnerable travelers.
I. Vulnerable travelers are more likely to face greater risk of harm when they are in traffic accidents while using the Transportation network.
J. The City is not on pace to achieve its goal of ending traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030.
K. Following an April 2026 Council request, the City Auditor’s Office placed a performance audit of Seattle’s Vision Zero program in its audit queue and workplan but has advised that a final report is not anticipated until Spring 2027.
L. Each life lost or constrained due to crashes represents not only loss and grief for affected loved ones but an individual’s unrealized potential.
M. SDOT strengthened its Vision Zero work in May 2026 by adopting a Programmatic Fatal Crash Response Policy,
N. It is appropriate that SDOT examine its current policies and practices and determine whether there are opportunities to take new preventive actions in line with the City’s Vision Zero Plan.
O. In addition to prevention, the provision of safe, healthy, and equitable mobility on all Seattle city streets requires both appropriate crash response and crash data analysis that supports mitigation of identified hazards.
P. It is appropriate that SDOT continue to periodically examine its current policies and practices and determine whether there are opportunities to take new actions, related to crash response and crash data analysis, in line with the City’s Vision Zero goal.
Q. Effective and consistent traffic enforcement is an important component of a comprehensive traffic safety strategy, and targeted manual and automated enforcement should prioritize high-risk behaviors and locations identified through crash data, safety investment in locations that have been disproportionately impacted by severe crashes, such as the City’s High Injury Network (or successor program), and other safety and equity considerations.
R. SDOT seeks to improve the safety of the City’s transportation network by learning from the best practices of other jurisdictions and research entities such as the National Association of City Transportation Officials, the Transportation Research Board, and others.
S. SDOT values its partnership with counterparts within King County and the State of Washington, which ensures the coordination of efforts to make highways, paths and trails safe for all users.
T. The City Council values proactive relationships with county and state transportation partners to guide construction of new and ongoing projects.
U. SDOT is required to seek design approval from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) related to certain elements of designated state highways that operate as city streets and all onramps to and offramps from city streets that connect to highways that WSDOT owns.
V. When WSDOT does not provide design feedback in a timely manner, SDOT’s ability to increase safety, health, and equitable mobility may be compromised.
W. The Seattle Municipal Code authorizes the Transportation Director and the City Traffic Engineer to undertake studies, develop designs, and inform the construction of the City’s transportation network, elements of which include signals, signs, crosswalk markings, traffic flow, and speeds.
X. SDOT’s post-collision actions are intended to protect the traveling public.
Y. Sidewalks are essential infrastructure for protecting vulnerable road users, providing safe, accessible, and predictable space for people walking, rolling, and using mobility devices, and gaps in the sidewalk network disproportionately increase exposure to high-risk traffic conditions and limit equitable mobility across Seattle.
Z. Approximately 26 percent of Seattle streets lack sidewalks, with substantial unmet sidewalk needs reflected in current Council Districts 1, 2, and 5.
AA. Rapidly completing a connected, citywide sidewalk network, including by working with urgency to strengthen the City’s investments to close the 26 percent missing sidewalk gap in Seatle, is a critical component of improving public safety and traffic safety in Seattle, reducing injuries and fatalities for vulnerable travelers, and better positioning the City to fulfill its commitment to prioritize safe, equitable, healthy, and accessible travel for all residents, workers, and visitors.
BB. The construction of traffic safety projects requires skilled, reliable, and safety-conscious workers whose critical expertise ensures that critical infrastructure such as crossings, sidewalks, signals, and roadway safety treatments are built to the highest professional standards.
CC. The use of union labor supports these standards by providing a well-trained workforce with strong safety practices, fair wages, and stable working conditions, helping to ensure that traffic safety projects are delivered efficiently, durably, and in a manner that advances the City’s commitment to public safety and equitable economic opportunity.
Section 2. It is the intent of the City Council that the Seattle Department of Transportation’s (SDOT’s) Vision Zero Action Plan 2024 Update (Vision Zero Action Plan), or its successor document, is adopted as the City’s guide to advance transportation safety goals. The Seattle Department of Transportation shall review and update a Vision Zero Plan, or successor traffic safety plan, no later than three years after the adoption of the most recent update of such plan.
Section 3. It is the intent of the City Council that the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Programmatic Fatal Crash Response Policy dated May 18, 2026, and attached to this ordinance as Attachment A, which strengthens its Vision Zero Plan, is recognized as an initial guide and baseline policy governing post-fatal crash site response, with the goal of creating a more efficient and transparent process for promptly reviewing fatal crashes and identifying and potentially implementing onsite safety improvements in a more rapid and streamlined manner. By its terms, the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Programmatic Fatal Crash Response Policy dated May 18, 2026, expressly states that the goal is for SDOT to (a) complete this initial post-fatality crash site review within two to four weeks of receiving the Police Traffic Collision Report (PTCR) from the Seattle Police Department, and (b) complete any associated remediation or maintenance activities within 90 days thereafter.
Section 4. Post-fatal crash response options
A. No later than June 15, 2027, the Seattle Department of Transportation shall submit to the City Council a written report describing at least three progressively more stringent options for improving the Department's existing response following a qualifying fatal crash occurring on a City street for which SDOT has primary operational responsibility, as described in Section 3 of this ordinance. Each option shall (i) improve upon the existing administrative post-fatality crash response standards established in SDOT's May 18, 2026 Programmatic Fatal Crash Response Policy, and (ii) identify anticipated costs, staffing requirements, operational or City-process changes, additional resources necessary for implementation, and any recommended legislative, budgetary, or administrative changes required to support prompt implementation if the City decides it wants to implement any of these options, including by the City taking formal action to a) initiate implementation of any of the options in the case of the Executive, or b) request implementation of any of the options in the case of the Council.
B. At least one option described in subsection 4.A of this ordinance shall specifically evaluate a model under which SDOT completes an initial site review within 72 hours after receiving notice of a qualifying fatal crash, including consideration of feasible interim or temporary safety treatments and development of a plan for the prompt implementation of treatments that SDOT determines, in the exercise of professional engineering judgment, are warranted and appropriate. That option shall also evaluate a substantially shorter timeframe for completing associated remediation or maintenance activities at the fatal crash site location than the current timeframe of 90 days after SDOT completes its initial review of the site location before SDOT completes remediation or maintenance activities as set forth in Section 3 of this ordinance, and as further described in Seattle Department of Transportation’s Programmatic Fatal Crash Response Policy dated May 18, 2026.
C. The option described in subsection 4.B of this ordinance shall include analysis of the potential completion of remediation or maintenance activities within 14 days following the initial site review, except where the Department determines and documents in writing that physical conditions, procurement or utility constraints, emergency circumstances, or other objective and documented factors make completion within that period impracticable.
Section 5. SDOT is required to obtain written feedback from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) on its designs for on-ramps and off-ramps to roads that WSDOT maintains. The City requests that WSDOT return on-ramp and off-ramp design feedback to SDOT within a reasonable amount of time, but in no case more than 180 days.
Section 6. A new Section 11.14.716 is added to the Seattle Municipal Code as follows:
11.14.716 Vision Zero Plan
“Vision Zero Plan” means a policy developed by Seattle Department of Transportation that is adaptive and informed by data on Seattle’s traffic safety outcomes and is focused on making progress towards zero lives lost and people seriously injured on City streets due to crashes. “Vision Zero Plan” may include traffic safety plans that reflect evolving best practices and evaluations of the City’s transportation network, even if such plans are not publicly referred to as a “Vision Zero Plan”.
Section 7. Section 11.14.714 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 127432, is renumbered 11.14.720 as follows:
((11.14.714)) 11.14.720 Vulnerable user of a public way
"Vulnerable user of a public way" means a pedestrian, a person riding an animal, or a person operating or riding any of the following on a public way: a farm tractor or implement of husbandry, without an enclosed shell, a bicycle, an electric-assisted bicycle, an electric personal assistive mobility device, a moped, a motor-driven cycle, a motorized foot scooter, or a motorcycle.
Section 8. Section 11.14.715 of the Seattle Municipal Code, enacted by Ordinance 108200, is renumbered 11.14.725 as follows:
((11.14.715)) 11.14.725 Way open to the public
"Way open to the public" means any road, alley, lane, parking area, path, or any place, private or otherwise, adapted to and fitted for travel, that is in common use by the public with the consent, expressed or implied, of the owner or owners, and further shall mean public playgrounds, schoolgrounds, recreation grounds, parks, parkways, park drives, park paths and wharves, station grounds, and rights-of-way open to the use of the public.
Section 9. A new Section 11.14.716 is added to the Seattle Municipal Code as follows:
11.14.716 Vulnerable traveler
"Vulnerable traveler" means a person on a public way who is traveling by walking, rolling, biking, using a micromobility device, using a wheelchair or other mobility device, riding a motorcycle or moped, or accessing transit.
Section 10. Section 11.16.120 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 126756, is amended as follows:
11.16.120 Director of Transportation - Authority
The Director of Transportation is authorized:
A. ((To increase the maximum speed allowed upon arterial streets)) To set posted maximum speed limits on arterial streets consistent with current best practices informed by traffic safety goals set out in a Vision Zero Plan and as allowable under state law;
B. To declare a minimum speed limit, which shall be effective when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are erected and when it is determined that slow speeds on any part of an arterial street unreasonably impede the normal movement of traffic, with the goal of enhancing users’ safety;
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G. To promulgate rules and regulations for the RPZ program; ((and))
H. To prioritize a Vision Zero Plan and advance safety goals when planning, deploying, and maintaining transportation infrastructure and when developing transportation policies;
I. To ensure capital project reviews are informed by safety needs identified in a Vision Zero Plan when changes to the configuration or operations of an intersection are proposed and when geography and budget allow;
J. To consider, as appropriate, the prioritization of capital and programmatic safety investment in locations that have been disproportionately impacted by severe crashes such as locations identified in the Seattle Department of Transportation’s High Injury Network (or successor program) and that the City’s Racial and Social Equity Index (or successor program or methodology) identifies for high equity priority;
K. To incorporate, as appropriate, traffic safety best practices consistent with a Vision Zero Plan and other Seattle Department of Transportation’s rules, manuals, standards, and policies, such as, and not limited to, the right of way improvements manual, engineering standards documents, and Director’s Rules, as appropriate; and
((H.)) L. To prepare and recommend for adoption by the City Council a schedule of fees applicable to the reviewing and administering permits and issuing violations for vehicle and curb space uses.
Section 11. Section 11.16.180 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 118409, is amended as follows:
11.16.180 Traffic Engineer-Authority-Studies((.))
It shall be the function of the Traffic Engineer under the supervision of the Director of Transportation to:
A. Research and identify safety countermeasures, as informed by a Vision Zero Plan that is consistent with current traffic safety best practices, and adopt them into City standards, policies, or guidance;
((A.)) B. Conduct studies of traffic and transportation impacts including but not limited to noise pollution, air pollution, and community disruption;
((B.)) C. Conduct studies ((of traffic, traffic collisions, congestion and other)) and provide annual reporting regarding traffic and traffic crashes that account for the needs of vulnerable travelers of city streets and paths and aspects of traffic crashes such as their severity level, their typology, suspected or confirmed impairment data of those involved crashes, traffic citations issued by the Seattle Police Department, and conditions affecting the safe and convenient use of the ((street and alleys)) City’s transportation network;
((C.)) D. Collect facts regarding the effect and operation of regulations controlling the City’s transportation network, including path, trail, street, or alley traffic, accounting for the needs of vulnerable travelers of the public way;
((D.)) E. Study the means for the facilitation of traffic along existing routes while prioritizing the equitable mobility and safety of vulnerable travelers along city streets, alleys and paths;
((E.)) F. Make traffic surveys;
((F.)) G. Prepare traffic((-flow)) volume maps;
((G.)) H. Conduct studies of the utilization of street or alley curb space; and
((H.)) I. Conduct such other similar studies relating to traffic safety, traffic, and transportation as may be requested by the Director of Transportation.
Section 12. Section 11.16.200 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 118409, is amended as follows:
11.16.200 Traffic Engineer - Authority - Records
It is the function of the Traffic Engineer under the supervision of the Director of Transportation to:
A. Keep records of:
((A.)) 1. Traffic ((collisions)) crashes;
((B.)) 2. Traffic volume;
((C.)) 3. Traffic-control devices, such as and not limited to, leading pedestrian intervals, no-turn-on-red restrictions, enhanced crossings, speed management devices, protected bicycle facilities, protected micromobility facilities, and intersection sightline enhancements, and their installation and operation;
((D.)) 4. Street curb space utilization((.)) ; and
B. Make public, via accessible reports, charts, maps, dashboards, and other records and performance data, as appropriate, the records kept pursuant to subsection 11.16.200.A, such that the availability of this information may inform users of the City’s transportation network about locations that have been disproportionately impacted by severe crashes, safety incidents, network vulnerabilities, and help provide an enhanced understanding of infrastructure investments, employed traffic safety countermeasures, and potential opportunities for improvements, subject to (1) the applicable privacy and security laws, and (2) additional rules, processes, and procedures developed by the Director of Transportation that meet or exceed the requirements set forth in this ordinance.
Section 13. Section 11.16.220 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 118409, is amended as follows:
11.16.220 Traffic Engineer-Authority-Annual report((.))
The Traffic Engineer shall prepare an annual traffic and transportation report containing information on traffic conditions with particular reference to the progress made towards traffic safety goals outlined in a Vision Zero Plan along with identifying potential impediments to achieving success with suggested mitigation strategies to better position the City to more effectively and efficiently, address, and overcome potential impediments to achieving success, the number of traffic ((collisions)) crashes, the number of persons killed and injured, and other traffic crash data and traffic trends throughout the City with context provided as to the per capita incidence of serious injuries and fatalities as it relates to population, traffic volumes, vehicle miles traveled, and other appropriate performance metrics. This report may include additional data within the purview of the Traffic Engineer. This report shall be submitted to the Director of Transportation who shall file copies with the Mayor, the City Council, and the Chief of Police.
Section 14. Section 11.16.340 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 119510, is amended as follows:
11.16.340 Traffic Engineer-Authority-Traffic control devices((.))
The Traffic Engineer is authorized under the supervision of the Director of Transportation to:
A. Design and prepare the specifications for the operation of all traffic-control devices specifically mentioned in this ((subtitle.)) Subtitle I;
B. Determine and designate the points of stop, and shall order the placement of a stop sign on each and every street intersecting the arterial street system unless traffic at any such intersection is controlled at all times by traffic signals, or unless the intersecting street is a ((one (1))) one-way street designated for travel away from the arterial street, provided, that when the findings of a traffic engineering study show that the condition of an intersection is such that vehicles may safely enter the arterial street without stopping, the Traffic Engineer may order the placement of a ((“))yield((“)) sign;
C. Determine intersections ((which)) that require control by ((“))stop((“)) or ((“))yield((“)) signs and order placement of same;
D. Determine and order the marking of crosswalks at intersections or at such other places where the Traffic Engineer deems it appropriate for the identification of the crossing location, with the purpose of enhancing the visibility of the vulnerable travlers in those crosswalks;
E. Determine and order sightline upgrades at intersections by prohibiting parking or visual obstructions within an appropriate distance from intersections, crosswalks, and other traffic control devices;
((E.)) F. Determine and order the closure of certain crosswalks to pedestrians;
((F.)) G. Determine and order the marking of traffic lanes upon the roadway of any street or alley;
((G.)) H. Determine and order the designation of a ((two (2))) two-way left-turn lane on a roadway (RCW 46.61.290(3)(a));
((H.)) I. Determine and order the placement of curbs, buttons, paint lines, or other devices to form islands or barriers upon the roadway to channel and control traffic;
((I.)) J. Order the placement of signs at all arterial street entrances to the City indicating that the speed limit on arterial streets is ((thirty (30))) 25 miles per hour and the placement of signs along all arterial streets upon which the maximum speed limit has been increased above ((thirty (30))) 25 miles per hour (RCW 46.61.415(3));
((J.)) K. Determine and order the designation of no-passing zones;
L. Determine and order the placement and implementation of traffic-safety countermeasures such as leading pedestrian intervals, no-turn-on-red restrictions, enhanced crossings, intersection sightline upgrades, and speed management devices;
((K.)) M. Determine and order the placement of traffic-control devices indicating the course to be traveled by turning vehicles, which course to be traveled may conform to or be other than as prescribed by this ((subtitle)) Subtitle I (RCW 46.61.290(4));
((L.)) N. Test new or proposed traffic-control devices under actual conditions of traffic (((SB 3211, Section 47(23))));
((M.)) O. Order the placement at the ends of designated streets, alleys, bridges or elevated structures, signs setting forth specified maximum load limits allowed on such streets, alleys, bridges or elevated structures, or notice of closure as conditions warrant;
((N.)) P. Determine and order the placement of official traffic-control devices when and as required under this ((subtitle)) Subtitle I to make effective the provisions of this ((subtitle)) Subtitle I, and order the placement of such additional official traffic-control devices as may be deemed appropriate to regulate, warn, or guide traffic under this ((subtitle (SB 3211, Section 47(1)))) Subtitle I;
((O.)) Q. Determine the placement of official traffic-control devices as may be deemed necessary to regulate, warn, or guide traffic for construction, detours, emergencies, and special conditions (((SB 3211, Section 47(2)))); ((and))
R. Incorporate, as appropriate, traffic safety best practices informed by a Vision Zero Plan in the placement and configuration of traffic-control devices;
S. Consider the installation of appropriate facilities and traffic-calming measures consistent with traffic safety best practices informed by a Vision Zero Plan;
T. Consider, as appropriate, the prioritization of traffic-control devices and traffic-safety countermeasure investment in priority locations that have been disproportionately impacted by severe crashes, such as the City’s High Injury Network (or successor program) that the City’s Racial and Social Equity Index (or successor program or methodology) identifies for high equity priority; and
((P.)) U. Determine the streets where the use of compression brakes shall be prohibited, devise signs prohibiting their use, and place the signs at the appropriate locations. To be eligible for designation, a street shall have a grade five (((5))) percent or less for a distance of ((one thousand ())1,000(())) feet.
Section 15. Section 15.70.040 of the Seattle Municipal Code, enacted by Ordinance 126984, is amended as follows:
15.70.040 Requirements for Seattle Department of Transportation projects
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F. Whenever the Seattle Department of Transportation constructs a major paving project as defined in Section 15.80.010 along arterials, the Department may add intersection sightline upgrades as a part of that project, unless the Director of Transportation determines that the characteristics of the physical features or usage of a street, or financial constraints prevent additional intersection sightline upgrades.
G. The City Traffic Engineer will review the design of capital improvement projects that materially change the configuration or operation of the public way to identify applicable traffic safety needs and appropriate safety treatments informed by a Vision Zero Plan. The project may incorporate safety treatments identified through that review when the City Traffic Engineer determines, in the exercise of professional engineering judgment, that they are appropriate and reasonably feasible.
Section 16. Within one year of the effective date of this ordinance, the City Traffic Engineer shall update: (i) the Traffic Control Manual for In-street Work; and (ii) all relevant SDOT policies to implement this ordinance.
Section 17. Minimum standards. The requirements established by this ordinance are minimum requirements and do not prohibit the Seattle Department of Transportation from adopting or implementing more proactive, more responsive, or otherwise stronger traffic safety policies, practices, standards, or actions consistent with applicable law.
Section 18. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. The invalidity of any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or portion of this ordinance, or the invalidity of its application to any person or circumstance, does not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances.
Attachments:
Attachment A - Programmatic Fatal Crash Response Policy
This ordinance shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Sections 1.04.020 and 1.04.070.
Passed by the City Council and signed in open session in authentication of its passage on .
President of the City Council
on .
Katie B. Wilson, Mayor
Lenné Dedman, City Clerk