Seattle sees drop in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Throngs of pedestrians line up for a cruise boat along Seattle's waterfront. Photo: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Seattle recorded zero cyclist deaths in 2024 and saw pedestrian fatalities drop to their lowest level in years, according to preliminary data from the city.
Why it matters: The numbers are part of a broader shift that saw pedestrian deaths decline statewide, but city officials say that doesn't negate the need for continued investment in safer policies and infrastructure.
What they're saying: Until fatalities go "all the way down to zero, we still have work to do," Venu Nemani, chief safety officer for Seattle Department of Transportation, told the City Council Transportation Committee this month.
The big picture: Pedestrian deaths nationwide rose almost seven times faster than population growth between the first half of 2014 and 2024, according to a new Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) preliminary report.
By the numbers: In Seattle, there were 10 pedestrian deaths in 2024, half of the 20 recorded in 2021, per a Vision Zero presentation to the Transportation Committee.
- Statewide, 57 pedestrians were killed on Washington roads in the first half of last year, down from the first-half peak of 71 pedestrian deaths in 2023, the GHSA found.
- But that's still up significantly from the 39 pedestrian deaths recorded in Washington in the first six months of 2020.
- Nationally, 3,304 pedestrians were killed on roads from January to June 2024 — a drop of 88 deaths compared to the same period in 2023, but 1,072 more than in the first half of 2014, per the GHSA report.
Flashback: If the preliminary counts hold, Steve Hulsman, who died while biking on Marine View Drive in West Seattle on Dec. 21, 2023, is the last person killed while biking in Seattle.
Yes, but: Fatalities among car drivers and passengers, as well as people on motorcycles and mopeds, were up last year, per city data.
Between the lines: Seattle was among the first cities to embrace Vision Zero, a plan to end all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
- But pedestrian fatalities surged for years, attributed by some experts to an increase in the number of larger vehicles like SUVs on the road, pandemic-era speeding, and reduced traffic enforcement in many cities.
- The recent decline may be linked, in part, to traffic calming measures, including lower speed limits, narrower roads, roundabouts, and no-right-on-red intersections, per the Vision Zero report.
What's next: The city is expanding traffic safety cameras and redesigning high-crash corridors with $70 million from last year's transportation levy.
- King County Target Zero Traffic Safety Coalition is also launching a safety campaign along an 11-mile stretch of 140th/132nd Avenue SE through Renton, Kent and Auburn after a series of fatal high-speed crashes.
- The corridor was flagged as high risk in a recent study.