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Enumclaw adopts local road safety plan after residents press for intersection beacons
Summary
The council adopted a Local Road Safety Plan identifying nine priority areas and an approximately $21 million improvement list; residents urged rapid-flashing beacons and interim measures at the Stevenson–Cole intersection, and public works presented an $84,000 preliminary estimate for pedestrian bulb-outs.
Council members voted March 9 to adopt a Local Road Safety Plan that identifies nine priority locations and a range of countermeasures city staff say will reduce fatal and serious-injury collisions.
City Administrator Chris Searcy and staff described the plan as a data-driven framework intended to help the city compete for grants and loans. Staff told the council the plan lists projects including railroad-intersection improvements at Stevenson, pedestrian upgrades on Porta Street, citywide LED lighting and striping, shoulder and rumble-strip applications, and rapid-flashing crosswalk enhancements. Staff estimated the total scope of identified needs at about $21,000,000 and said that funding is not currently set aside; the intent of adopting the plan is to improve the city's position when seeking outside grants.
Public comment that preceded the vote focused on one intersection. A longtime resident who lives near Stevenson and Cole asked the council to install rectangular rapid-flashing beacons with push-button pedestrian controls at the AutoZone corner, saying senior-center patrons and veterans have been struck and seriously injured there. "We need to protect our seniors," the resident said, describing rolling stops and the absence of 25 mph signage.
Councilmember McClure reported a public-works preliminary design that includes two pedestrian bulb-outs on the south side of the intersection and improved sight lines; the first-pass engineer's estimate for those bulb-outs was about $84,000, a figure that currently does not include rapid-flashing beacons. McClure said some interim measures, including signage and a designated no-parking stall in front of a nearby business, will be implemented while engineering continues.
Council members discussed timing and funding and then approved Resolution 1870 adopting the Local Road Safety Plan by voice vote. Staff said the next steps are to finalize project drawings, refine budgets in March, and pursue grants and loans to fund construction. The city clerk recorded the vote as unanimous on the motion to adopt the plan.
