Residents urge quicker pedestrian safety fixes after fatal crash at Cole and Stevenson

Residents pushed the City Council to accelerate pedestrian-safety improvements at the Cole and Stevenson intersection following a crash in January that later resulted in a resident’s death.

A resident who addressed the council said she had left a message weeks earlier and that the person struck in January “passed away” on a Sunday; she asked for an update and pleaded for pedestrian funding so “we would still wish to have…an update regarding how we're moving forward on the Stevenson Cole area.” The comment urged the city to move beyond planning and implement safety measures that could prevent further fatalities.

A veteran who spoke described repeatedly crossing the intersection and urged enforcement and engineering changes: “I raised my hand twice to protect our land against all enemies… I didn't realize that we had enemies behind the wheel with their coffee cup and their telephone at the corner of Cole And Stevenson,” and asked the council to use speed enforcement and signage to reduce dangerous driving.

Mayor and staff did not announce a specific funding commitment during the meeting; multiple commenters urged lower-cost interim measures — such as handheld flags, temporary signage, or targeted enforcement — to be considered before larger capital work scheduled for a later date. The council’s committee reports later noted ongoing discussions of traffic and safety priorities; no binding directive or funding allocation for immediate engineering changes was adopted during the session.