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Residents urge immediate pedestrian safety measures after fatal January crash
Summary
Multiple residents told the Enumclaw City Council they’ve lost a neighbor after a January crash at the Stevenson and Cole intersection and urged the city to use temporary and permanent traffic-calming measures, including lights, signs and enforcement.
Multiple residents pressed the Enumclaw City Council on June 22 for accelerated pedestrian safety improvements at the Stevenson and Cole intersection, saying the city should not wait months for capital work after a pedestrian struck in January later died.
"We would still wish to have an update regarding how we're moving forward on the Stevenson/Cole area," said a resident (speaker 5), who told council she had reported the earlier crash and asked whether pedestrian funding could be advanced. She said the victim, "a lovely lady," later died.
A second resident and local veteran (speaker 6) urged stepped-up enforcement and short-term engineering fixes: "Put in the lights, put in the signs 25 miles an hour, and take people's cars away...do something, please." Nora Tackenboge, a city resident, suggested low‑cost temporary measures such as handheld flags and called for steps that improve driver sight lines until permanent construction is funded. "I just hope that, you know, Eileen's death wasn't in vain," she said.
Cindy Proctor, a longtime resident, broadened the concerns to other neighborhood corridors, citing missing ADA curb ramps, increased on‑street parking that blocks visibility, and drivers cutting through residential streets. She urged council to reconsider lower‑cost traffic calming—reflective pavement markers, clearer crosswalk markings and targeted enforcement—and to plan street improvements with future development in mind.
Council did not take immediate action during the meeting. Speakers asked for updates on scheduling and funding; council members did not commit to a timetable at the June 22 meeting. The comments came during the public‑comment portion of the agenda and were not followed by a vote. The council’s public‑safety committee had earlier reviewed safety measures and indicated an enforcement and education push for electric bicycles and similar devices, but no formal capital appropriation for the Stevenson/Cole intersection was recorded in the meeting minutes.
The residents’ statements referenced the January crash and urged a mix of near‑term, low‑cost interventions and longer‑term engineering work. Councilmembers and staff will have opportunities to respond at committee meetings and at future council sessions; no date for a staff report or project funding was scheduled by the end of the June 22 meeting.
