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Residents urge faster pedestrian safety fixes after fatal crash at Cole and Stevenson
Summary
Residents told the Enumclaw City Council they lost a neighbor in a January crash at Cole Street and Stevenson and urged the council to accelerate pedestrian funding, deploy low-cost interim measures and step up enforcement to prevent further deaths.
Longtime Enumclaw residents pressed the City Council on June 22 to move faster on pedestrian-safety improvements at the intersection of Cole Street and Stevenson after a January crash that killed a local woman.
A resident who asked to be identified said she had reported the danger weeks earlier and pleaded for immediate pedestrian funding, saying, “We would still wish to have an update regarding how we're moving forward on the Stevenson Cole area” and stressing the urgency after the fatality.
Another resident, a Navy veteran who spoke about his decades of service, urged stepped-up enforcement and infrastructure changes, saying, “Little Eileen was in a wheelchair that got demolished, and she died. So please put in the lights, put in the signs 25 miles an hour… do something, please.”
Nora Tackenboge, introduced herself as a longtime Enumclaw resident, repeated the community’s concern and suggested low-cost interim options such as handheld flags to encourage eye contact at the crossing: “I just hope that, you know, Eileen's death wasn't in vain.”
Cindy Proctor, who said this was her third time raising neighborhood safety issues before council, described multiple risks on Trella/Trilla and Melody Lanes, including drivers cutting through at high speed, missing ADA-compliant curb cuts and parking that blocks sight lines. She asked the council to reconsider lower-cost traffic-calming measures such as reflective markings and clearer crosswalk signage and to plan street improvements that will keep pace with neighborhood growth.
Council members did not take formal action during public comment. The speakers called for three types of steps: near-term, low-cost interventions (temporary flags, signs, reflective markings); expanded enforcement (speed checks, possible unmarked enforcement); and budgeted infrastructure changes (lighting, permanent crosswalks, ADA ramps).
The council’s public-safety committee recently discussed broader traffic and enforcement matters. Residents at the meeting said they want a clearer timeline from staff and elected leaders for when improvements would be designed and funded.
The meeting record shows no immediate funding commitment; follow-up from staff or a council agenda item to respond to the commenters’ requests would be the next procedural step.
