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Residents urge faster pedestrian-safety steps after fatal crash at Cole and Stevenson
Summary
At the June 22 Enumclaw City Council meeting, residents urged quicker traffic-calming and interim safety measures at the Cole and Stevenson intersection after the January death of a pedestrian; speakers asked for lights, enforcement and low-cost visibility fixes while awaiting larger projects.
At the June 22 meeting of the Enumclaw City Council, several residents pressed the council for faster pedestrian-safety improvements at the Cole and Stevenson intersection after a January crash led to the death of Eileen Griffith.
A resident who addressed the council said she had reported the collision weeks earlier and requested an update. She said the project timeline referenced during prior meetings suggested work might not occur until January and asked, “Please help,” noting the family loss and urgency.
Another resident, a Navy veteran, told the council he has “raised my hand twice to protect our land” and contrasted that with drivers who use phones and speed through the intersection. “Please put in the lights, put in the signs 25 miles an hour, and take people's cars away,” he said, urging stepped-up enforcement and speed checks.
Nora Tackenboge, who identified herself as a long-time Enumclaw resident, reiterated that the city lost Eileen Griffith after a driver failed to stop. She asked the council to consider interim, low-cost measures such as hand-held red flags to increase driver awareness while larger infrastructure or funding can be arranged: “I just hope that, you know, Eileen's death wasn't in vain.”
Cindy Proctor, another longtime resident, asked the council to reconsider prior denials for traffic-calming on Rilla Lane and Melody Lane and pressed for fixes to ADA curb cuts, better crosswalk markings and measures to discourage cut-through speeding by nonresidents. She said the corridor serves families, children and people using mobility devices and warned that the area’s increased density and on-street parking are worsening visibility and risk.
Speakers asked the council for clearer timelines and interim, lower-cost interventions while larger projects or grant funding are pursued. The council did not announce a specific immediate funding commitment during the meeting; public-safety committee updates later in the agenda noted block-camera upgrades and an education push tied to recent state e-bike rules, but no explicit timeline for the requested corner improvements was provided.
The council's formal business on June 22 included first readings of a proposed electric-motorcycle ordinance and a 2026 budget amendment; separate council discussion will determine next steps on specific pedestrian projects.
