Letter to the Editor: Is the City indifferent to resident and visitor safety?
Monday, December 29, 2025
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We asked for a crossing light on 15th Avenue NE and were ignored until a second child, Tia Townsend, was run over in 2005. Is this another instance of the City's indifference to resident and visitor safety?
The two blocks of 148th street between 8th Avenue and 5th Avenue have no walkable route. On work days, commuters park along the street which already has the narrowest right-of-way I know of in the city.
Pedestrians, including children, airport-bound residents and visitors hauling luggage, all take their lives in their hands as trucks, SUVs, and other vehicles force them to flatten themselves against parked vehicles.
The street is lit incidentally by glare from the light rail station. This makes pedestrians nearly invisible, especially during rain events.
Pedestrian and vehicle traffic has increased many-fold since the opening of the station and it's more frenetic with concurrent traffic revisions at the 145th Street/5th Avenue intersection.
The right of way must be widened.
Parking must be disallowed.
An unobstructed pedestrian route must be established
Lighting must be upgraded.
The council and planning department have treated our neighborhood as a sacrifice zone for the 27 years that I've lived here. Now our lives are at risk every time we venture to use light rail.
The hour is late. Make a short term fix immediately while permanent improvements are considered.
Do this before someone gets killed. Please
Jeffrey M. Eisenbrey
Shoreline
The street is lit incidentally by glare from the light rail station. This makes pedestrians nearly invisible, especially during rain events.
Pedestrian and vehicle traffic has increased many-fold since the opening of the station and it's more frenetic with concurrent traffic revisions at the 145th Street/5th Avenue intersection.
The right of way must be widened.
Parking must be disallowed.
An unobstructed pedestrian route must be established
Lighting must be upgraded.
The council and planning department have treated our neighborhood as a sacrifice zone for the 27 years that I've lived here. Now our lives are at risk every time we venture to use light rail.
The hour is late. Make a short term fix immediately while permanent improvements are considered.
Do this before someone gets killed. Please
Jeffrey M. Eisenbrey
Shoreline
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4 comments:
Thanks for bringing up this issue. I think part of the problem is from drivers bypassing the 5th/145th intersection by rat running through 8th and 148th.
I believe that not every street needs to prioritize driving. If you eliminate through traffic, the source of the danger disappears. 148th is a good candidate for this: there's literally a parallel state highway one block away that people can drive on instead.
This is a great location for a Quick Build project https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/WSDOT-ActiveTransportation-QuickBuild-Training-Slides.pdf
Increased neighborhood traffic is a consequence of restricting traffic flow on arterials, in addition to the inane roadwork that’s happening at the 145th/I-5 interchange.
I concur! Any traffic and parking enforcement would be appreciated around there. There's a light on 5th by 148th, but I've seen cars drive through on the red - so much for making it safe for pedestrians to cross. I live just outside the rezone area that was done for the light rail stations, but with the ongoing development and infill all over town, we have more cars on the same size streets. Maybe we could have more speed humps if we don't have staff (police or others) to ensure compliance with laws?
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