A car that hit a pedestrian near a school sparked a discussion on traffic safety at a recent Renton City Council meeting.
On May 19, the Renton Police Department was notified of an accident involving a car hitting a 37-year-old female at 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of North 4th Street and Park Avenue North, according to Sandra Havlik, communications and community engagement coordinator for the Renton Police Department. She said the fire department responded to provide aid and transported the female to the hospital. Her condition was unknown as of press time.
Havlik said the driver, a 49-year-old male, remained on the scene and was interviewed by officers. The officers cited the driver for distracted driving and the investigation was turned over to the department’s Traffic Investigations Unit for further review.
At the May 12 city council meeting, For A Better Renton President Sheryl Friesz was the first to bring up the specific accident that occurred near Sartori Elementary School during the public comment. She said she received a text that a mother was hit that afternoon and went to the scene.
“Children saw. Parents saw. My daughter was there with the woman. My grandson attends kindergarten there,” Friesz said. “There’s nothing like holding a distraught sobbing six-year-old and there’s nothing like seeing your daughter do the same.”
Friesz said she has an open ticket on Renton Responds from May 6, 2023, about traffic on North 4th Street. She asked for the city council to take action and conduct traffic studies prior to approving developments.
Tristan Kochen, creator of Safe Streets Renton, argued for better designed roads to reduce speeding.
“If we want to prevent serious injuries and deaths, we have to design roads that make safe choices the easy, obvious answer for everyone,” Kochen said.
Councilmember Carmen Rivera started the conversation among the council by making a motion on a pedestrian and traffic safety review. Specifically, she requested the review on places that have had two or more pedestrian or bicycle traffic incidents within the calendar year.
“We’ve experienced a death this year. A mom was just hit. I had a friend of mine who also was hit,” Rivera said. “There are many people who are experiencing these dangers and I think that it is overdue.”
Rivera said in the public safety meeting, they were not seeing a decrease in pedestrian safety incidents in the last two years.
Councilmember Ryan McIrvin suggested they not be overly prescriptive in what they are asking for to make sure they are getting the information they need. Mayor Armondo Pavone said there could be areas where a single incident is too many and suggested letting staff decide where to examine.
Council President James Alberson Jr. said more data will allow them to determine what they can do to address pedestrian safety.
“We can’t wave a magic wand and have every pedestrian pay attention to where they are, have every driver not be distracted and we can’t put speed bumps on every (road),” Alberson said. “Overall, this has to be really a comprehensive type of study if we want to actually make a dent in anything.”
The council approved a new motion from Rivera for a traffic and pedestrian safety impact study for the entire city of Renton. No timeline has been established yet for that study.
