The Seattle Department of Transportation might want to redesign the Junction's midblock crosswalks when it repaves California Avenue this summer, but city transportation officials don't plan to add parking pay stations or change the Junction's walk-all-ways intersection.

The California Avenue repaving project will extend from Southwest Edmunds Street northward to Admiral Way.

Transportation officials worry about crosswalks that span four lanes, such as are found in the Junction, said Gregg Hirakawa, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Transportation. Pedestrian accidents sometimes occur when the driver of a car in the outside lane stops for a pedestrian but drivers in the inside lane often don't see the pedestrian.

Crosswalks are high on Mayor Greg Nickels' priority list too.

"The mayor wants to improve safety at crosswalks throughout the city," said Martin McOmber, a spokesman for Nickels.

Since California Avenue's crosswalks, centerline and lane markings have to be repainted anyway after new pavement is installed, transportation planners are looking for possible safety improvements.

For example, planners are considering allowing right-on-red turns at California's intersections with Alaska and Edmunds streets. A few curbside parking spaces near the ends of the blocks would have to be removed to provide a right-turn lane. But these are only ideas for now.

"Nothing is set in stone," Hirakawa cautioned.