Puyallup School District seeks permanent closure of Seventh Street NW after safety pilot study

Puyallup School District staff and its traffic consultant presented data July 22 on a pilot closure of Seventh Street Northwest between the Puyallup High School gym and portable classrooms. The district asked the council to receive the report and indicated it will petition the city for a permanent street vacation if the city concurs.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Vincent Pacquia and Brian Devereaux, director of facilities planning, described campus constraints: Puyallup High sits on roughly 15 acres, with a permanent building capacity of 1,262 students and a total capacity including portables of about 1,735. The district said enrollment rose from 1,623 students in October 2023 to 1,730 in October 2024, with 1,691 students reported in February 2025 (excludes full-time running-start students).

Traffic consultant Marnie Heffron reviewed before‑and‑after counts and video evidence. The district closed the street temporarily on Dec. 23, 2024 using lockable barriers and gates that allow emergency access. Heffron described the before condition as “chaotic” with students crossing between cars and vehicles performing parallel‑parking maneuvers; the after condition showed calmer pedestrian movement but produced modest traffic diversion to nearby Second and Eighth streets. The consultant reported increases on those diversion routes on the order of tens to a couple of hundred vehicles per hour during peak windows but said intersection operations remained within acceptable levels and that 85th‑percentile speeds on the affected streets were generally within 20 mph of posted limits.

The district plans further design work and proposed next steps: reengage neighbors and the school community, refine curb-use and parking controls, consider modest hardscape improvements for a permanent plaza-like closure (instead of temporary barricades), and submit a formal street‑vacation petition so the city can review environmental, traffic and maintenance implications. The district tentatively targets late August for a community meeting to present the petition and said physical improvements would likely occur in 2026 if the city approves a permanent vacation.

Several council members voiced conditional support but asked for stronger design standards than the temporary barriers: Councilmember Johnson said a permanent closure should not be opened again for special events and urged a plaza‑grade design rather than temporary concrete blocks; others asked the district to ensure robust outreach to nearby residents and to provide additional data on any parking impacts and collision history.

No council vote on the vacation petition was taken at the meeting; the district said it would return after additional neighborhood engagement and when it files the formal petition.