Waukee resident urges safety audit after 7-year-old struck on Prairie Bluff Drive

A Waukee resident asked the City Council on Monday to order a safety audit of Prairie Bluff Drive after a 7-year-old child was struck by a vehicle and remained in the pediatric intensive care unit. Cody Crandall, a Prairie Bluff Drive resident, told the council the collision on Friday, Sept. 22, highlighted design and traffic-calming deficiencies on the street and asked the city to authorize a safety audit. “The design of the street isn't gonna be safe for children or families,” Crandall said. The request drew support and related concerns from another resident about the growing presence of motorized scooters and other small vehicles. Joan Ross said scooter riders often use sidewalks and street centers and sometimes fail to move for pedestrians, raising the risk to children and adults. Mayor Clark responded that the city will commission a traffic study and safety review of Prairie Bluff Drive and will present the results at a work session for council consideration. “We will have the traffic study done, and it will be on an agenda for us to look at,” the mayor said, adding staff expect to bring recommendations back to the council by October. Crandall criticized a police department social-media post that he said described injuries as “minor” while the child was in intensive care; he said that factual mismatch was upsetting to neighbors and urged more careful public communications. Crandall also thanked the additional police presence in the neighborhood but said enforcement alone will not fix street design problems. Council members and staff did not adopt any immediate ordinance or take a formal vote at the meeting. The council indicated next steps will be administrative: staff will have a traffic study and safety review prepared and return findings to the council at a future agenda or work session for possible traffic-calming, crosswalk, or infrastructure measures. The mayor also noted state law limits the city's ability to regulate certain personal mobility devices and that the city has requested the legislature consider statewide rules; the council discussed nonlegislative options such as educational campaigns. The council did not adopt policy or funding at the meeting; the matter will return to staff and be scheduled for a future agenda.