A motorcyclist was killed in my neighborhood last week, his machine a barely recognizable heap of metal strewn up and down the roadway. I’m sure the reports will lay the cause on excessive speed.
There’s more to the story, though. The accident occurred at the intersection of Northeast 63rd Street and Northeast 58th Avenue, at the top of a hill. There are stop signs on 58th. The posted speed on 63rd is 40 mph but is regularly exceeded by 10 to 15 mph.
In the 12 years I’ve lived here, there’s been significant residential development, precipitating heavier traffic loads. I was initially surprised when part of the permitting process didn’t include a signal at this intersection. In developments adjacent to the intersection, county planners permitted 6-foot-high fences to be built right up to the sidewalk on 63rd.
Sight lines are so impaired that vehicles entering from 58th are forced to nose into the bike lanes to see oncoming traffic.
