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SNOHOMISH — Earlier this month, the Snohomish Public Safety Board conducted a creative, weeklong pedestrian safety campaign aiming to highlight drivers’ blindspots and remind motorists when to yield to foot traffic.
Between Feb. 1 and 7, six board members donned high visibility outfits and patrolled high traffic areas, crosswalks, and side streets in order to observe driver behavior and pass out safety pamphlets to pedestrians. At the Feb. 11 board meeting, local business owner Bill Webster II, who walked in a bright neon sweatsuit, said they received mostly positive feedback from the residents. Though the week of the campaign was a particularly cold one, Webster pointed out the necessity of conducting these initiatives during the darker parts of the year.
“(Pedestrians) have the right to circumnavigate the city in a safe manner regardless of whatever time of year or time of day it is,” he said.
Board member Sara Wagner said the intersection of Third Street and Avenue D is particularly troublesome. Wagner said cars turning onto Avenue D from Third Street often fail to look out for pedestrians, presumably more focused on watching for oncoming vehicle traffic.
In the meeting agenda, the following intersections were brought up as points of concern, particularly on weekends: Fourth Street and Avenue D, Fourth Street and Maple Avenue, Pine Avenue and Maple Avenue, and Second Street and Avenue B.
Over the next two years, the city will be installing flashing beacons at five locations: Second Street and Avenue C, Fourth and Avenue D, 13th Street and Park Avenue, Pine Avenue and 6th Street, and Avenue A where it meets the Interurban Trail. Of the board’s four intersections of concern, only Fourth Street and Avenue D will receive a beacon.
At Fourth Street and Avenue D, board member Peter Messinger reported that residents were relieved to hear safety features would be installed. While speaking with passersby, he found that many avoid the intersection entirely because it is too dangerous.“There were actually very few pedestrians who crossed there unless they were following their dogs,” Messinger said.
These beacons will arrive in 2025 and 2026. In the absence of extra visibility measures, it is up to drivers to remain cautious and focused on the roads and around crosswalks both demarcated and implied.
Police encourage residents to contribute to safety efforts by remaining observant and reporting dangerous intersections.
