Motorcyclist seriously injured in crash at Hwy 104 and Dayton Tuesday

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The motorcycle and car involved in the collision. (Photos by Larry Vogel)
The motorcycle and car involved in the collision. (Photos by Larry Vogel)

Updated with information on street reopening

The area of State Route 104 and Dayton Street in downtown Edmonds was closed for several hours Tuesday afternoon while Edmonds police traffic detectives investigated a motorcycle-car collision that sent the motorcyclist to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries.

According to Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marsh, police and Fire District 1 aid and medic units were dispatched to the scene at 12:43 p.m. Tuesday.  A motorcyclist had just left the Washington State Ferry and was headed south onto Highway 104 when it collided with a vehicle making a turn. The motorcyclist suffered “serious” injuries to his arm and leg but was conscious when units arrived on scene, Marsh said. He was transported to Harborview.

Because the crash involved injuries, the intersection was closed until about 6:50 p.m. so that investigators could complete their work, affecting Washington State Ferries commuters along with Community Transit buses that were rerouted to avoid the scene.

 

 

  1. This is the second car-motorcycle accident at this intersection in two or three years. The previous one involved a fatality.

    I have lived in Edmonds for nearly 24 years and believe traffic has increased during that time to where this intersection needs traffic lights with left hand turn arrows for both Hwy. 104/Edmonds Way/Sunset Ave. and Dayton St. I would appreciate any guidance on how to get the ball rolling on this matter.

  2. I think there have been more than that at that intersection… and yes I agree, they really need left hand turn arrows from Hwy 104/Edmonds Way/Sunset Ave. and Dayton St. Is the intersection still closed? Are the Community Transit buses being rerouted? Are the buses still servicing the transit center and waterfront?

    1. And police spokesman says the intersection is still closed, Community Transit buses are being rerouted but buses are servicing the transit center and waterfront. He is hoping that it will be reopened soon.

      1. As of 6:50 p.m., the road is open and police say the investigation into the cause of the collision is ongoing.

  3. Thanks – my boyfriend took the Sounder train home and the 130 up the hill. The buses turned around down by the Marina and then took Main to 2nd, to Dayton and then were back on regular route.

  4. I totally agree. They need a left hand turn signal there. Some of the vehicles getting off the ferry really like to speed. Making it difficult for those making a left. I am surprised I have not seen more accidents there.

  5. Im not sure how to get the ball rolling but I am 100% behind you Bill. With the remodel of the Antique Mall and new businesses going in to the spaces, there will be even more traffic added to that intersection. Making changes to that light/intersection should be a requirement before any of the new businesses are allowed to open.

  6. A major catalyst is this: People running solid red lights at this intersection. I’ve seen it numerous times from all angles, but mostly from ferry traffic heading south on 104 as vehicles blast through the intersection and many run the light on red which makes it difficult for those turning left from 104 onto Dayton (and allowing only one or two cars to turn per light cycle). This is going to be a fiasco when the new businesses open up, unfortunately it will probably take a fatality accident or two before the traffic signal is changed to reflect the current conditions.

  7. How about another round-a-bout like at 5 corners? Everyone loves it so much we should have more of them…

    Pray that the motorcyclist is ok!

  8. As a longtime ‘walk-on’ commuter of that ferry, I can say with near certainty that the problem is two-fold:

    1. Motorcyclists, in general, tend to speed excessively when getting off THAT ferry. By ‘that ferry’ I mean the one that most of the commuters are riding in the afternoon. In fact, almost everyone speeds off that ferry. Most don’t live in Edmonds, they’re too busy trying to get to the freeway, and could care less about the speed limits. I see it. Everyday. And I see the same offenders. After several years of people-watching, you get to know cars and motorcycles by color, sound, rims, etc.

    2. People making a right-hand turn onto 104 always…ALWAYS cut off ferry traffic. They’re far to impatient (or self-important?) to wait for 15-20 minutes at that intersection for the ferry to unload. In some ways, I fully understand that. In others, it’s their own fault. Like people who willfully get on the freeway at rush-hour and expect there to be no traffic, they’re asking for it.

    A turn-about there is a HORRIBLE idea. Talk about accidents! But, looking at the ferry system in general, no one ferry dock really has the best solution. While Kingston benefits from a huge parking lot, they funnel all the traffic directly through downtown. How many pedestrians would be hurt/killed if the Edmonds side did the same thing?

    The truth is the intersection has nothing to do with the accidents there. It’s 100% the fault of the drivers, ferry traffic or not. If people want less accidents there, they should learn to have a little more patience and slow down! That’s not something you can tell them to do, but it’s something you can do for yourself. Change starts with you.

    And change starts with those in Edmonds who have little to nothing to do with the ferry. Ferry traffic, when civil, has no change on the ‘value’ of your city. It neither adds to nor takes away from it. However, when that traffic speeds, hurts people, violates noise ordinances, etc, it ‘cheapens’ Edmonds and the beautiful city we live in. If you see something that makes you wish you lived someplace else, I’d invite you to report it to someone. Do your part, whether someone listens to you or not.

  9. I’ve also seen a few near-accidents with folks turning right from 104 onto Dayton eastbound when there’s a ferry line waiting and then someone starts to move forward into a newly-vacated spot in the toll-booth line. We either need a No Right Turn sign from 104 (at least from the center lane) onto Dayton or a Yield to Right Turning Traffic sign for those in the ferry line who are waiting to cross to a spot in the toll-booth line.

  10. During times of peak ferry travel there is a lighted sign forbidding a a right turn from northbound Hwy. 104 to eastbound Dayton across the toll-booth line like Bruce described above.

    The patience of drivers attempting turns onto or across Hwy. 104 wears thin when faced with a two or three light wait at the intersection of Hwy. 104 & Dayton. This in turn prompts them to take chances instead of waiting for traffic to clear.

    It used to be that the source of the problem was just the surge of vehicles on Hwy. 104 exiting a ferry which had just arrived. Recently an increase in traffic on Dayton has added to the problem.

    I have sat at the light at Hwy. 104 & Dayton and observed west bound traffic on Dayton backed all the way up the hill to Third Ave. I have seen drivers eastbound on Dayton waiting to turn left to travel northbound on Sunset having to wait two or three light changes before the westbound Dayton traffic cleared so they could proceed.

    The left hand turn lanes are already at the intersection as are the traffic signals. I am not a traffic engineer, but it seems to me that the addition of left hand turn arrows for both Dayton and Hwy. 104 would be relatively inexpensive. The greatest expense and inconvenience would appear to be installing traffic sensors in all four left turn lanes.

  11. Bill, I know that when TWO lanes are used for the ferry there’s a no-right turn signal. But when one lane is stacked and moving on a “space-available” basis, folks from the center lane can turn right in front of that waiting (moving when openings available) lane. That should be prohibited.
    As far as the backups on Dayton, whenever there’s a backup on 104, that signal sensor interprets it to mean there’s traffic on 104 and stays for the longest possible cycle (even if no traffic is actually moving on 104). Dayton back up in both directions, and left turns, in particular, are difficult.
    One last comment is that only too often I’ve seen cars turning into the ferry booth lanes from Dayton (both directions) and even 104 southbound (U-turn). That can become a safety issue for pedestrians. Design flaw?
    The entire intersection traffic control situation needs reevaluation and updating for everyone’s safety.

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