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Residents urge faster pedestrian safety fixes after death at Cole and Stevenson
Summary
Multiple residents told the council on June 22 that a pedestrian’s January death at the Cole and Stevenson intersection shows the need for accelerated safety measures — lights, signs, temporary flags and enforcement — and asked for a clear update on funding and timing.
At the June 22 Enumclaw City Council meeting, several residents urged the council to accelerate pedestrian-safety measures at the intersection of Cole Street and Stevenson following a January crash that killed a resident identified in public comment as Eileen Griffith.
A resident who asked for an update said she left messages with staff and asked, "Can we get some pedestrian funding?" She recounted that one person hit in January later died and asked the council to provide a progress report on the Stevenson/Cole area.
A longtime resident and Navy veteran described repeatedly encountering drivers who speed and fail to stop at the intersection and said, "I am now 76 years old. I'd like to live to 100, and I cross that street, and people just zoom by," urging the city to install lights, signs and speed enforcement.
Nora Tackenboge, who identified herself as a city resident, asked whether the city could use low-cost interim measures such as handheld flags to improve drivers' awareness, saying "I just hope that, you know, Eileen's death wasn't in vain." Cindy Proctor, another longtime resident, described additional neighborhood safety issues on Rilla Lane and Melody Lane — including drivers cutting through neighborhoods at high speed, missing ADA curb ramps and increased pedestrian exposure — and asked the council to revisit previously denied traffic-calming requests.
Council members did not adopt an immediate directive or a new funding allocation during the meeting. Staff references in public comment indicate ongoing discussions with city staff (one resident indicated a conversation with "Chris"), but no timeline or specific staff action was recorded in the public-comment responses at the meeting.
Next steps: residents requested a status update; council members may address requests in committee or at a future meeting.
