Flashing yellow arrows are coming to a Tacoma intersection near you
Left-turn flashing yellow arrows are popping up at intersections around Tacoma.
More are on the way.
“The city is adding Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA) displays to improve traffic flow and safety at select signalized intersections,” city traffic engineer Josh Diekmann said in an email. “... Flashing yellow arrows give engineers additional options on how signals are timed and can enable safer and more efficient signal timing options.”
In some locations, the new arrows will allow the city to consider adding a protected green arrow during periods of high demand, added Stacy Ellifritt, city spokesperson.
Flashing yellow arrows allow drivers to make left turns at an intersection if there is no oncoming traffic. Drivers better understand them than a circular green light, according to a Federal Highway Administration study.
Tacoma’s flashing yellow arrow installations have occurred within the past couple years. Many of those projects were funded through safety grants.
The cost of installing flashing yellow arrows varies, according to Leigh Starr, manager for the city’s Streetlight Replacement Project.
Just to install the light itself costs roughly $5,000 to $6,000 for materials and labor. In some cases, the controllers — boxes on the side of the road that control the intersection signals — also have to be replaced, which can cost between $25,000 and $35,000.
Some controllers around the city date back to the 1980s and aren’t fitted to incorporate flashing yellow arrow systems, Starr said. For example, South 19th Street and Sprague Avenue is one of the projects completed this month that needed to have its controller replaced.
Currently, the city of Tacoma has eight intersections with flashing yellow arrows:
▪ South 38th Street and South G Street
▪ South M Street and South Tacoma Way
▪ Lincoln Avenue and Port of Tacoma Road
▪ Marshall Avenue and Port of Tacoma Road
▪ South 19th Street and Sprague Avenue
▪ South 19th Street and South Union Avenue
▪ South 35th Street and South Union Avenue
▪ South 12th Street and South Stevens Street
Later this year, the city will install flashing yellow areas at the following intersections:
▪ South 25th Street and South C Street
▪ South Tacoma Way and Pacific Avenue
▪ South 26th Street and A Street
▪ East 26th Street and East D Street
Flashing yellow lights will be installed at the following intersections in 2021:
▪ East 64th Street and Portland Avenue East
▪ East 56th Street and Portland Avenue East
▪ East 48th Street and Portland Avenue East
▪ East 44th Street and Portland Avenue East
▪ East 40th Street and Portland Avenue East
▪ East 38th Street and Portland Avenue East
▪ East Fairbanks Street and Portland Avenue East
▪ East 32nd Street and Portland Avenue East
▪ Puyallup Avenue and Portland Avenue East
