Seattle Police issued more than 800 traffic tickets over the last two years to motorists on 35th Avenue Southwest in response to High Point residents' complaints about speeders, yet drivers still challenge the radar gun.

Recently the Seattle Department of Transportation clocked cars and trucks at various locations on 35th Avenue. Near Raymond Street, the average speed of southbound traffic was the same as the speed limit of 35 mph, said Gregg Hirakawa, department spokesman. Northbound traffic averaged 37 mph.

Farther south on the busy arterial, cars and trucks averaged 39 mph going southbound, and 40 mph headed north.

Pedestrian safety in crosswalks gained new attention since the Nov. 14 death of Matthew Tatsuo Nakata, who was struck by a car while crossing Admiral Way in a crosswalk at 47th Avenue Southwest.

Only weeks before, High Point residents were meeting with city transportation officials and police about pedestrian safety on 35th Avenue.

Last week, Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis and Wayne Wentz, director of traffic operations at the Seattle Department of Transportation met with High Point residents at Elizabeth House, one of the residential buildings in the new High Point.

Transportation officials also studied the accident rate in the nine-block stretch of 35th Avenue from Brandon to Othello Street.

There were 181 car crashes between January 2001 and last September. Most were rear-end collisions, side swipes, hitting parked cars and similar accidents.

Each intersection had four or five wrecks, but the most accidents occurred at Juneau Street, which had 25.

"We are finding a pattern at Juneau," Hirakawa said.

The second-most crashes at 35th Avenue intersections were at Morgan Street, where 23 wrecks occurred in five years.

Fifty-one of the crashes occurred when motorists tried to make a left turn off 35th Avenue onto a side street.

The one fatal accident was at Graham Street.

Another 32 wrecks happened when people tried to turn from a side street onto 35th or to cross it. Twenty-three parked cars were hit too.

Neither the speeds nor the accident rate are out of the ordinary for arterial streets similar to 35th Avenue, Hirakawa said. Similar numbers can be found for Greenwood Avenue, Third Avenue Northwest and Stone Way, he said.

High Point area residents recommended the city install traffic signals and crosswalks at two 35th Avenue intersections, Graham and Myrtle streets. The Department of Transportation studied both intersections but determined neither met the engineering standards to qualify for signals.

People often call for more crosswalks because the painted walking lanes seem like a cure for many dangerous situations pedestrians face. However the evidence indicates crosswalks might create a false sense of security among pedestrians.

"Marked crosswalks have more collisions than unmarked crosswalks," said Wayne Wentz.

He told of an experiment in which the actions of pedestrians were videotaped and compared as they crossed a street at a busy intersection. People who had to cross the street without a crosswalk were more cautious than people aided by a painted crosswalk, he said.

The Transportation Department also warns against installing crosswalks on multilane roadways such as 35th Avenue, Hirakawa said. Each lane of traffic poses a threat to the safety of pedestrians, he said. Another danger is drivers making turns at intersections.

Legally speaking, pedestrians have the right of way. In the eyes of the law, the end of every block is considered a crosswalk, whether one is painted on the street or not, Hirakawa said. However, just because it is legal does not make every intersection safe for pedestrians, he added. So even though pedestrians have the right of way, it might not always be safe for them to use it.

"Sometimes crosswalks are not favored, but they are legal crosswalks," Hirakawa said. "It depends on the engineering. In some cases we're not going to say, 'Cross here.' Some signs say do not cross here.

"Crosswalks are placed where engineers would like you to cross," Hirakawa said.

Seattle has 4,663 crosswalks, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation website.

High Point residents also expressed concern about the intersection of 35th and Morgan Street. People told transportation officials that construction is progressing on a new multistory building on the corner that, among other tenants, will be the new home of the West Seattle Food Bank. That will soon add many more pedestrians as well as additional traffic to that busy intersection.

There is no record of any fatal accidents at 35th and Morgan, nor have there been many serious collisions, Hirakawa said.

In response to residents' concerns, the Department of Transportation made some pedestrian improvements on 35th Avenue.

For example, the length of time the "walk" sign is lighted was lengthened at Raymond Street crosswalk, which is next to the High Point Library.

At previous meetings, High Point residents said they were having difficulty seeing far enough down 35th to safely enter traffic from a side street. They recommended prohibiting parking too close to 35th Avenue on side streets.

The city restricted parking to one side of Raymond Street and painted a centerline on the street for a length of 80 feet to help separate traffic.

Residents also suggested curbside parking be allowed on only one side of Morgan Street between 35th and 34th avenues southwest.

Traffic volume is an issue with High Point residents too. An average of about 20,000 vehicles a day roll on 35th Avenue Southwest. That is more cars and trucks than use Fauntleroy Way or California Avenue, but less traffic than Admiral Way.

Some people reported seeing motorists, tired of waiting for the traffic signal to change at Raymond Street, send one of their children from the car to push the "walk" button on the nearby pole and scurry back to the car before the light changes and enables the parent to drive onto 35th Avenue.

A woman said school children have to cross 35th Avenue to catch their school bus.

Wentze replied that it's a violation of state law for youngsters to have to cross a busy road to board a school bus. School buses must pick up students at places where they don't have to cross busy streets, Wentz said.

For some residents, the solution to having too many cars driving too fast is to reduce the number of lanes in the street. They recommended a stretch of 35th Avenue - from Dawson to Myrtle streets - be converted from four lanes to two, with a third lane down the middle for left turns, something the city calls a "road diet."

Transportation officials worry that would reduce by half 35th Avenue's traffic-carrying capacity.

"Volume is at maximum capacity now," Wentz said, and it's important to maintain current traffic volumes, he added.

Other people called for a traffic signal to be installed at Dawson Street, the entrance to Camp Long.

"I'm not sure you want 10 signals on this street," Wentz said.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.