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Residents urge immediate pedestrian safety measures after fatality at Cole and Stevenson intersection
Summary
Residents told the council they lost a neighbor, asked for interim pedestrian safety measures at the Cole & Stevenson intersection and urged quicker action than the timeline staff previously described.
A group of residents told the Enumclaw City Council on June 22 that urgent safety steps are needed at the intersection of Cole Street and Stevenson after a resident died in a January crash.
At the start of public comment, one speaker recalled leaving a message with city staff and asked for "an update regarding how we're moving forward on the Stevenson Coal area" and whether pedestrian funding could be accelerated. The speaker said another crash victim later died and asked the council to act so "we don't have another person die." (Resident (speaker A))
A veteran who spoke identified his military service and urged immediate enforcement and infrastructure changes, saying: "We need lights to stop the speeders ... put in the signs 25 miles an hour, and take people's cars away and ... do something, please." He suggested speed studies and stepped-up enforcement to curb drivers who use phones or otherwise fail to stop. (Resident (speaker B))
Nora Tackenboge, a longtime city resident, said the victim, Eileen Griffith, was struck after a vehicle failed to stop and asked the council for low-cost interim measures such as handheld red flags to increase driver visibility at the intersection. "I just hope that ... Eileen's death wasn't in vain," Tackenboge said.
Another resident, Cindy Proctor, described repeated failures to stop at signs on Trilla/Trella and Melody lanes, cited missing or outdated ADA curb cuts in parts of the neighborhood and recommended reconsideration of lower-cost traffic-calming options such as reflective markings or a short-term drop-off zone near Cole Street to reduce cut-through traffic.
Speakers asked for an update from staff and for measures that could be implemented sooner than previously discussed timelines. The council did not make a formal motion or set a timetable for speeding or pedestrian upgrades during the meeting; staff or council follow-up was not recorded on the record that evening.
The public comment period was the forum where residents raised the safety concerns; no council action on the topic was taken at the June 22 meeting. The council's next meetings were announced during the session.
