King County Road Services - Frequently-asked questions

For information on the road conditions that necessitate road closures and detour routes, please contact Traffic Maintenance and Engineering at 206-296-6596 or 1-800-527-6237 (toll-free).

For information on the road conditions that necessitate road closures and detour routes, please contact Traffic Maintenance and Engineering at 206-296-6596 or 1-800-527-6237 (toll-free).

To request the installation of a guardrail or barricade, please contact Traffic Maintenance and Engineering at 206-296-6596 or 1-800-527-6237 (toll-free) with the location, nearby cross streets and any identifying landmarks.

In traffic engineer lingo, those "painted lines" are pavement markings. To request that pavement marking be repainted or new ones be painted where none exist now, contact the Pavement Marking group at 206-296-6596.

As with many aspects of safety on our roadways, research and statistics suggest that installing pedestrian crosswalks may not do much for pedestrian safety. A Washington State Department of Transportation "Pedestrian Collision Report" of pedestrain/vehicle accidents found that most occured during daylight hours between April through September on dry pavement. The leading driver contribution to the accident was failure to yield, inattention and alcohol in that order. The leading pedestrian contribution was inattention, failure to yield, and alcohol in that order. Failure to the use the crosswalk was fourth. The Arizona State Department of Transportation used that study for it own crosswalk policy and describes covers the advantages and disadvantages of crosswalks in "Pedestrian Crosswalks - How Safe Are They?" Note that this material is based on reseach conducted in the City of San Diego, now one of the safest pedestrian cities in the country. This study found that the ratio of pedestrian accidents in marked crosswalks to those in unmarked crosswalks was 6 to 1 and even after some adjustments to the data, the ratio was 2 to 1.

Traffic engineers install crosswalks sparingly because we do not want to foster a false sense of security in people crossing the street. There may be other more effective measures that can be taken to address your pedestrian safety concerns. If you have a question about crosswalks or other pedestrian safety measures, contact the Pavement Marking group at 206-296-6596.

For more information about road use permits, please contact Real Estate Services.

Uses which may require a street use permit include parades, block parties, or any other event which requires the closure of a road. For more information, please contact Real Estate Services.

Posted speed limits are not the only answer for controlling travel speed. There is a common belief that posting a lower speed limit will influence drivers to drive at that speed. The facts indicate otherwise. National research shows that drivers are more influenced by the appearance of roads and the prevailing traffic conditions than by the posted speed limit. If speed limit signs are posted for a lower limit than is needed to safely meet roadway conditions, many drivers will simply ignore the signs while other drivers will operate their vehicle near the posted speed. This increases conflicts between faster and slower vehicles, reduces gaps in traffic through which pedestrian and vehicle crossings could be made safely, and adds difficulty for pedestrians to judge the speed of approaching vehicles. Studies show that where uniformity of speeds are not maintained, accidents generally increase.

Whatever the reason for unsafe traffic speeds, there are often actions that can be taken to improve the situation. If you are aware of roads in unincorporated King County where drivers are traveling at unsafe speeds, please contact us.

To find out what the existing speed limit is on a roadway, call 206-296-6596 and ask to speak with an Engineering Technician in the Records group. To request a SPEED LIMIT REDUCTION OR INCREASE on an arterial road (30-50 MPH), call 206-296-6596 and ask to speak with an engineer in the Safety Investigations group. To request a SPEED LIMIT REDUCTION OR INCREASE on a residential road, call 206-296-6596, and ask to speak with an engineer in the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program.

For questions pertaining to accident statistics on King County roads, roads that are not inside a city jurisdiction or along a state route, please contact Traffic Maintenance and Engineering at 206-296-6596 or 1-800-527-6237 (toll-free). Be sure to include your name and phone number along with the intersecting cross street names and road location.

Yes. King County's web-based cameras are a traffic management tool that provide real-time traffic information to traffic operators, the media, and the traveling public. The cameras are designed to increase the safety and efficiency of roadways and to inform drivers of adverse conditions such as accidents or congestion. Motorists can visit King County's My Commute Map and view video images of traffic conditions.

Pre-trip Internet traveler information assists travelers in making mode choices, travel time estimates, and route decisions prior to trip departure. The Traffic Control Center staff monitor the real-time traffic conditions and can intervene quickly to deal with emerging problems. They adjust traffic signal timings, dispatch enforcement personnel and advise motorists. Upon detection of an incident or other disruption to the flow of traffic, the operators in the Traffic Control Center can notify the appropriate authorities to clear the incident.

Visit the My Commute Map to learn more.

If you have any traffic safety concerns with regard to your neighborhood intersection, contact Traffic Maintenance and Engineering at 206-296-6596 or 1-800-527-6237 (toll-free) and provide the intersecting street names. Traffic engineers will conduct a field investigation and collect traffic data. This information will be reviewed and used to determine next steps, such as whether or not the use of a traffic calming device, such as a traffic circle, would be appropriate.

A modern roundabout is a type of intersection control that features a raised central median and does not use traffic signals. The modern roundabout requires vehicles to yield at each entry point, has a diameter from 100 to 200 feet (which distinguishes it from a traffic circle, rotary or great circle), and has raised (splitter) islands at each entry that deflect the flow of traffic into the roundabout in the proper direction of travel. To learn more about modern roundabouts, please contact Traffic Maintenance and Engineering at 206-296-6596 or 1-800-527-6237 (toll-free).

A traffic circle is a small raised island most often associated with traffic calming within residential neighborhoods. Unlike the modern roundabout, traffic circles are used primarily to address traffic speed and volume concerns. Also, while entering vehicles yield to vehicles in a modern roundabout, the right-of-way rule applies when two vehicles simultaneously approach a traffic circle. For more information about traffic circles, please contact Traffic Maintenance and Engineering at 206-296-6596 or 1-800-527-6237 (toll-free).

Call 206-296-6596 if you are concerned about traffic volumes, speeding in neighborhoods, cut-through traffic or other safety problems. You can also visit the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program Web site to learn more.