December 1, 2006

Seattle Residents for Improved Pedestrian Safety
Email: crossingflags@gmail.com 

Dear Residents:

Thank you for writing the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) about the use of crossing flags at crosswalks. 

SDOT currently does not install, nor allow installation of, pedestrian crossing flags in the street right-of-way. The public right-of-way refers to the street and sidewalk areas, up until the property line. It includes all poles and posts that hold city signs. It generally extends up until the back of the sidewalk (the non-street side of the sidewalk).

Although it would be fine for individuals to carry a crossing aid (whether a flag or a handkerchief, or something similar) on their own person, it is problematic for SDOT to allow flags to be posted at an intersection. This is because the Seattle Department of Transportation is responsible for traffic control items that are placed in the right-of-way. Consequently, we do not allow citizens install any type of traffic control, including flags, in the right-of-way. This policy also serves to protect citizens from unintended liability. SDOT does not have the staff to install and to make sure flags are in place on a continual basis. Therefore, SDOT has no plans to begin such a program and cannot allow these flags to be placed in the public right-of-way. For this reason, SDOT crews removed the flags from their locations along North 40th Street once notified of their existence.

Thank you again for writing. Please contact me if you have questions about this policy, or to discuss specific problems you are experiencing when crossing North 40th Street at these locations. I can be reached at
(206) 684-5124, or via email at megan.hoyt@seattle.gov.

Sincerely,

Megan Hoyt
Pedestrian Safety Engineer