Shhhhh! What do you hear on I-5?
Published 9:00 pm Sunday, August 20, 2006
If all went well over the weekend, southbound I-5 drivers on their way to work in Seattle can do their own noise test.
When you drive under the I-405 bridge, turn off the music. Get off the phone. Roll up the windows. Quiet down and listen.
You should hear something you rarely hear on the state’s stud-rumpled freeways.
And that is?
Silence. Or something close to it.
The state was expected to install a 1.8-mile section of “quiet” pavement. It starts at the I-405 interchange and ends about 44th Avenue W.
So, does it work?
That’s the hope of paving wizards, who cooked up a goop of recycled tires, rubberized polymer, asphalt, gizzards, eye of newt and whatnot.
Their theory is that this potion will absorb enough sound to reduce the noise level by a whisper, or about 3 decibels.
Then they’ll test and measure, using a device they’ll affix inches away from the tire of a state vehicle that will tell them if less noise is being produced and how much. And also they want to know how much abuse the new surface will take.
Now here’s where you come in.
What do you hear? You know where to e-mail: stsmarts@heraldnet.com.
Question: I am writing because I am concerned about the safety of pedestrians and motorists.
Why do pedestrians get the OK sign to cross a busy street at the same time a motorist has a green light to turn (left or right) through that intersection? I’m not talking about situations when there is a green left-turn arrow.
When I come to work, I pass through the intersection at Pacific Avenue and Rucker Avenue in Everett. When I am turning right, I get a green light. I have been honked at many times by people who see the green and think I’m just sitting there. They can’t see that I can’t go because a pedestrian is crossing.
Candice Kirby, Everett
Answer: There is a misunderstanding of the rule of the road by many drivers.
A traffic light that shows a green circle means that you can go straight through the light if it is safe to do so.
Drivers who are turning, such as turning right on the green circle, must yield to pedestrians and bicyclists.
Page 24 of the Washington State Drivers Guide is very clear in this regard: “When turning right or left, watch for pedestrians crossing in front of your vehicle. You must stop for pedestrians if they are in, or within, one lane of your half of the roadway.”
A green circle at the traffic light does not give right of way to the turning driver. Only a green arrow gives the right of way to the turning driver.
Dongho Chang, Department of Transportation traffic engineer
Have a question about traffic or street rules around Snohomish and Island counties? We can help find an answer. E-mail The Herald at stsmarts@ heraldnet. com.
