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Residents urge immediate traffic-calming after pedestrian killed at Cole and Stevenson
Summary
Residents told the Enumclaw City Council they want immediate traffic-calming and enforcement after the January crash that killed Eileen Griffith at the Cole/Stevenson area, urging lights, signage and low-cost measures while noting funding limits.
A series of residents at the June 22 Enumclaw City Council meeting urged immediate city action to reduce speeding and improve pedestrian safety at the Cole and Stevenson intersection after a January crash in which Eileen Griffith later died.
A resident who spoke early in the public-comment period said she had reported the crash and asked the council for an update on safety improvements, calling for pedestrian funding and an expedited timeline. The resident said another victim from the crash remains alive but severely injured.
John, a longtime resident and Navy veteran, told the council the city should "put in the lights, put in the signs 25 miles an hour" and conduct enforcement such as sitting in an unmarked car with a speed gun to deter drivers who "zoom by." "Before we have more deaths, we don't need that," he said.
Resident Nora Tackenboge, who identified herself as a city resident, reiterated that "we lost Eileen Griffith due to somebody not stopping at that sign," and said she understood city funds are limited. She suggested low-cost countermeasures — such as the high-visibility handheld flags used in other cities — as an interim step.
Longtime resident Cindy Proctor described repeated stop-sign violations and near-misses on Rilla and Melody Lanes and near the Foothills Trails, noted missing ADA-compliant curb ramps that force people into the street, and offered to provide video documentation of violations. "It's only a matter of time before there's another liability there," Proctor said.
Councilors did not take a vote or adopt an immediate action during public comment; the council returned to committee reports and later business without a formal directive recorded on the transcript. Residents asked for clarity on timing and funding; one speaker said prior requests for traffic calming in the area had been denied and asked the council to "reconsider practical lower-cost options."
Why it matters: Pedestrian-safety requests followed an in-town fatality and multiple public witnesses offering firsthand accounts and video evidence of drivers failing to stop. The comments put pressure on public-safety and public-works committees to revisit enforcement, signage, and modest engineering fixes.
Next steps: The issue remains in the public-comment record. Residents asked the council for updates; no specific timeline or funding commitment for the requested measures appears in the transcript.
