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Traffic study recommends Silver Lake Parkway connection, signal at Golden Eagle; residents urge faster action
Summary
Hales Engineering's traffic study recommends building the Silver Lake Parkway connection, signalizing Golden Eagle & Silver Lake Parkway, and other near‑term safety measures; dozens of Silver Lake residents urged the council during public comment to accelerate the connection and immediate safety fixes such as crosswalk improvements, striping and speed calming.
A traffic study presented by Hales Engineering modeled 2026, 2035 and 2050 scenarios for two alternative connections and concluded the Silver Lake Parkway connection would improve network redundancy and safety and reduce cut‑through traffic on Pony Express. The firm recommended near‑term improvements including a signalized intersection at Golden Eagle and Silver Lake Parkway, a potential conversion of the existing roundabout to a signal at Golden Eagle (with added left‑turn lanes), realignment/traffic calming on Woodhaven Boulevard, and relocating cluster mailboxes that can impede traffic flow. "With this improvement, it would improve the queue length... and also provide improved pedestrian connectivity," the firm said when describing the recommended signal at Golden Eagle and pedestrian crossings.
Public comment earlier in the meeting featured strong resident support for the connection and immediate safety measures: parents, teachers and neighbors described near‑misses at school crosswalks, a student injury on Pony Express, and the need for alternatives to keep students off Pony Express. Several residents urged the council to implement low‑cost safety items now — striping to define parking lanes, relocating problematic mailboxes and installing speed‑tables or other calming measures — while the longer construction and regional funding process proceeds. Staff said some projects (turn‑lane work and other widening) are funded and designed for this summer, and the city will run a citywide speed study beginning immediately with elementary‑school locations prioritized.
