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Resident urges traffic calming near Chambers Primary; city schedules focus group on traffic safety
Summary
A University Place resident asked council to add traffic calming measures on 50 Sixth Street West near Chambers Primary School; council and staff directed the issue to the Public Safety Advisory Commission, which will hold a traffic-safety focus group Oct. 23.
A University Place resident told the council Monday that motorists frequently exceed the 25 mph speed limit on 50 Sixth Street West, the block that dead-ends at Chambers Primary School, and asked the city to consider traffic-calming measures.
Lars Sumner, who said he walks his child to Chambers Primary, described a long, straight stretch of roadway with “no road markings, no speed controlling devices of any kind” and said the designated school zone covers roughly 100 yards beyond the school. “The result of that…is that the traffic patterns are, often in excess of 25 miles an hour,” Sumner said, and he suggested several possible remedies: reduce the posted limit to 15 mph, install speed humps, add flashing red lights to the existing radar speed sign, enable the school-zone sign to activate during school hours, or other traffic-calming treatments.
Council members and staff acknowledged the concern. The council later heard from the city’s public-safety representative (the chief) that the Public Safety Advisory Commission will hold a focus group on traffic safety at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, and about 20 residents had signed up to participate. Councilmember Boykin praised staff responsiveness and said staff had already provided information and visited the location with the resident.
The focus group will gather local observations and recommendations and the Public Safety Advisory Commission plans to return to council with a report later this fall, city staff said.
