Woman, 73, killed in SUV-pedestrian accident at 4th and Bell Tuesday night

Police cars at the scene of the SUV-pedestrian accident in front of North Sound Church Tuesday.
Police cars at the scene of the SUV-pedestrian accident in front of North Sound Church Tuesday.

Updated with additional information

Edmonds police were at the corner of 4th Avenue and Bell Street Tuesday night after a pedestrian was struck and killed by an SUV while crossing the street around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

The pedestrian, a 73-year-old Edmonds woman, was crossing 4th Ave North, eastbound on Bell Street, when she was struck by a late model SUV driven by a 36-year-old Edmonds woman. The driver, who had been initiating a left turn onto 4th Ave North, stopped immediately and called 911, police said.

According to Assistant Police Chief Don Anderson, police “arrived on scene within two minutes of being dispatched but the female pedestrian was already deceased.”

“The 36-year-old driver is cooperating fully and there is no indication at this time that drugs and/or alcohol were a factor in this collision,” Anderson said.

A man named Joe, who didn’t want his last name used, said he was waiting up the street to meet someone when he heard “a thump and a skid.” He saw the victim in the street, and offered his shirt and towels from his truck to help, but she was unresponsive, he said.

  1. Older people & younger people wearing headphones are what the motorists today have to look for aside from toddlers & the random stray dog. Motorists have a greater responsibility now than we did 20 years ago. I don’t know all the circumstances but in the last month I have witnessed 1 elderly person & 3 people with headphones walk into traffic without even looking one way let alone both ways. Had I not been paying attention every situation could have been tragic. With GPS & our cell phones ringing insistently…. Its become a rough would for peds & drivers… Just sayin’

  2. I fell in love with the city of Edmonds. It’s a wonderful Community. However, the motorist seem to think they are doing you a favor by allowing you to cross the street. How do you get the word out to slow the thing down and obey the Law…just venting!!

  3. I was almost hit 2 days ago crossing the roundabout by the fountain, the car made no effort to stop but rather whizzed within inches of me instead. Yesterday’s accident is the 2nd tragic pedestrian fatality in downtown Edmonds within a year. City Council: is there a plan to keep Edmonds known as a family-friendly safe walking town or do we watch our reputation go down the drain of apathy?

  4. Thoughts and prayers go out to the families involved with this tragedy – how very, very sad.

    Efforts have been made to improve pedestrian safety, but it is apparent that much more needs to be done.

    The Strategic Action Plan’s Objective 5 is to: Provide responsible, accountable, and responsive government. 5c states: Ensure a safe and secure environment for residents, businesses, and visitors. ”Pedestrian Safety” is mentioned 1 time in the City’s Strategic Action Plan.

    One purpose of the City’s Comprehensive Plan is: To promote the public health, safety, and welfare consistent with the values of the community.

    ”Pedestrian Safety” is mentioned 10 times in the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

    “Pedestrian Safety” is mentioned 14 times in the City’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan.

  5. My thoughts and prayers go to the family,very sad my heart aches for them. And my thoughts are with they driver in this accident also very sad,must be very devastated. I don’t trust these stop signs and most drivers come up to these signs way to fast not sure they are going to stop.at times I don’t feel safe crossing the streets.

  6. Ditto the comments about pedestrians and headphones. I think the elderly, of which there are many in Edmonds, have an additional issue with deteriorating hearing. Many may not realize that they must indeed “look both ways” before crossing a street, as they can no longer rely on their hearing to warn them of oncoming cars. The new, silent electric and hybrid cars compound the problem.

    The comment about the downtown “roundabout” highlights another traffic danger. It is not a “roundabout” or “traffic circle.” it is a four way stop, which many motorists fail to recognize or disregard entirely. I try to avoid it and take alternate routes when traversing the downtown area.

  7. Yes another tragic incident within a year. Given our aging population ( myself included) I have to ask the question is Edmonds really the walking city we would like to think it is? We give the term a lot of lip service, but look at the conditions of the sidewalks in the downtown core. In addition, I have noticed permanent placement of garbage cans on the sidewalk, homeowner’s plants impeding half of the width of the sidewalk, poor placement of the parking informational signs well into Edmonds sidewalks and an institutional preference of city staff (or codes) to value trees to the exclusion of new sidewalks. And then there is the reluctance of some of the Council to acknowledge dangerous situations on Sunset Ave N. Perhaps it is time to form a committee to report to the Mayor and Council on specifics to truly make Edmonds a walking city.

  8. My thoughts go out to the family of this sad tragedy.

    I would like to add that this morning while we were doing our usual walk, we weren’t even out of a CROSSWALK when a car whipped around the corner, GOING FAST into the crosswalk, while we were still attempting to cross the street IN that CROSSWALK.

    We walked 2 more blocks and right on 4th & Main Street, a woman who was walking her dogs and crossing IN the CROSSWALK had to yell at a driver that whipped around the corner on 4th & Main, GOING REALLY FAST, and almost hit her…..She was yelling at the driver when we passed.

    When we got to Main Street, we noticed that a 2 block expanse ON Main Street did not even have ANY SPEED LIMIT LISTED. W e walk all of the streets of Edmonds, and I can tell you (and we are fast walkers!) there is not a street in Edmonds (INCLUDING Main Street) that is SAFE for walkers or where cars are not driving unbelievable FAST

    . It doesn’t matter where we are, there are so many NEAR MISSES…….This morning while driving, there was ANOTHER NEAR MISS of a pedestrian at the FOUNTAIN ROUNDABOUT (and we’ve seen MANY there….so much for that “safe” roundabout)

    . And it appears that most of the people doing the near misses of pedestrians are driving very large vehicles……SUVS, TRUCKS and even HUMPHEES. This morning we saw a Humphee on Sunset that sped off from its parking place and whipped around the corner at Sunset & Casper incredibly fast…..So scary that we commented on it.

    It is long OVERDUE for this City and the Edmonds Police Department to promote the SAFETY of it’s residents walking on our streets . Ellie Bonano was killed quite sometime ago, and there is still NO MARKING that there is a CROSSING at that point, and was apparently the city (from what I understand) that made the two paths that LEAD walkers out ONTO THE STREET right there where Ms. Bonano was HIT by a vehicle.

    It’s the motorists with the 5,000 pounds of steel that need to ALWAYS pay attention, and SLOW DOWN!!. (get off of your CELL PHONES!)….CLEARLY, Edmonds is a town with a large older and elderly population so of course they may be walking slower …….A real no brainer….We see far more SPEEDERS in gigantic vehicles of thousands of pounds of STEEL!! RUSHING all the time, everywhere!.

    The POLICE need to get on top of this and get OUT THERE and start ticketing speeders (monetary loss always hits home fast). I would glad\ly pay extra taxes for this to get the POLICE out there POLICING SPEEDERS …….The City Of Edmonds job is to PROTECT AND MAKE SAFE the residents of Edmonds, including the older and more elderly SAFE……

    .let’s not blame the VULNERABLE in our society. A CIVILIZED society takes CARE OF it’s more vulnerable!

    *** I understood this morning from the mother (a Main St. business owner) of the WITNESS to the accident that the car was on the wrong side of the road when it happened. I believe that is what she said her son saw, clearly traumatized by what he saw. That young man is never going to forget what he saw, so his life will ALSO be affected forever along with the family of the woman that was hit. Tragedies like this AFFECT many, many people.

  9. I agree with Bill that the 4 way stop around the 5th and Main intersection is to be avoided. It is not a “roundabout” but motorists either barely stop or don’t wait for “right of way” and pedestrians are usually not paying much attention as they assume they have the right of way. The new 5 corners “roundabout” worries me due to the number of kids that use that intersection as pedestrians.
    The accident yesterday was a horrible reminder that, no matter where you are driving or walking, you must use caution and practice courtesy.
    My condolences to all involved with this sad situation.

  10. It’s always tragic to hear about car traffic killing a pedestrian. My prayers go out to the family. Driving a car is just a convenience. It makes me sick that it so often leads to debilitating injury and death.

    In the interest of safety, I would like to suggest there are two kinds of drivers going through Edmonds. One type is interested in a destination within Edmonds, looking for a place to park and visit people, shop, go to their home, etc. The other is what I call “drive-thru traffic”, just going through Edmonds on their way somewhere else.

    Edmonds would be much safer and more enjoyable if “drive-thru traffic” was channeled away from the center of Edmonds much like what is done with ferry traffic on highway 104. This kind of traffic is only using/degrading the infrastructure without contributing to the quality of living in Edmonds and they are usually driving much faster than “destination traffic”. You can see drive-thru traffic on roads such as H104, H524, 9th Ave, etc.

    As a prime example, this could be done on Main street. I would suggest making Main Street pedestrian only! This has been proven in other places to increase the popularity of the place for local businesses. Just take a look at how many people visit the farmer’s market when the streets are closed. The idea is to discourage drive-thru traffic by making cut-thru routes non-linear, slower, and basically eliminating the advantage of cutting through. Destination traffic would not be thwarted and would benefit from less drive thru traffic.

    An open street, for pedestrians only, becomes a park, the town square for the city, something that is completely missing from most cities, including Edmonds. Close down Main street to car traffic now. Make it a social place at the heart of Edmonds, exactly where it should be. Make roads safer for our considerable elderly population as well as children. Slow the traffic down, eliminate drive-thru, get people out of cars.

    I don’t know if it would have made a difference in this particular case as the SUV may not have been drive-thru traffic, but overall, statistically, it could significantly improve safety, livability, and the business climate as well.

  11. I was in Rory’s the other day and watched an old woman on her cell phone cross the street on the crosswalk AGAINST the light and almost got plowed by a Cadillac. The Cadillac sounded its horn and she dodged out of the way STILL on her cellphone and carried on crossing. Maybe it was the same woman?

  12. PLEASE let us not cut down ANY more trees………The amount of trees that have been cut down in Edmonds for economic development in the past 38 years is OBSCENE and for someone to suggest the cutting down of the few trees left is quite unbelievable……..The state of our planet and the very air we breathe clearly shows that DOMINION OVER ALL by a FEW old school homo sapiens clearly is destroying this planet. ……..THAT is old school and we need to work to SAVE things NOW, not continue to DESTROY to BUILD paved paradises……….”you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone”…….I guess these old school people missed that in the 60s……Well, people like Joni Mitchell were RIGHT…..and the best and GREATEST SCIENTISTS on the planet concur

  13. Thank you Tere and James for your comments.
    My dear friend and neighbor Ellie Bonanno was killed by a driver a little over 6 months ago on Walnut Street as she was going home from a walk. She was hit by the car at the intersection of the pathways of 8th avenue, her body fell from the car’s hood almost in front of my former home at 801 Walnut. She and I had repeatedly asked for the Police to do something about speeding in Edmonds to absolutely no avail. I almost was hit by a car myself in the crosswalk at 8th and Main. The driver just gave me a dirty look and sped on. The Police did virtually nothing about speeding on Walnut. They want people to “like them” so they don’t issue tickets. The motorists know that as they zoom everywhere and disregard pedestrians and their rights. I have heard countless stories of people almost hit just walking and crossing streets in Edmonds. It is the responsibility of the driver to safely operate his vehicle and yielding the right of way to pedestrian, especially on crosswalks and especially in a busy place such as downtown Edmonds. I believe it is the law.
    When I served on the ECDC (when it was first created) I suggested making Main Street and part of 5th Avenue a car free zone especially on week ends. In Europe the heart of most cities are car free pedestrian areas and businesses downtown are booming. This was just too radical a change at the time. I still think it would be a great idea that should be tried.
    Some of the comments blaming old age of the pedestrians are beyond callousness and absurdity. Everyone including motorists as was stated in an earlier comment are more and more distracted by their own gadgets. By the way there are 4 stop signs at 5th and Main, it is just a matter of obeying the rules of the road and paying attention!!!
    Two pedestrians have now recently been killed by motorists in Edmonds. Apparently there have been others in the past. Their family, their friends and the witnesses’s lives are changed for ever. What is it going to take for the citizens of Edmonds to demand better service from the very highly paid and numerous Edmonds Police? Is this death again going to be classified by the Police as a ” tragic accident” and just shoved under the proverbial carpet as it was for Ellie?
    My heartfelt condolences go to the family, friends and witnesses of this heartbreaking death.

  14. “It is not a “roundabout” or “traffic circle.” it is a four way stop”

    Wow! I never knew that. As long as I’ve been aware of roads I thought that was a traffic circle with stop signs for entry. No wonder there’s so much confusion. I’m not sure anybody I know who grew up here knows that.

    That also explains why I see people getting tickets so frequently there. I’ve seen them pulled over for what appeared to be absolutely nothing. Perhaps that needs better signage since it goes against all indications to the contrary.

  15. As a business owner in edmonds I have called our police dept. On many occassions to try to have something done about the crosswalk imfront of my business on 5th and howell. Drivers rarely stop for anyone attempting to cross.drivers routinely exceed 40mph when driving up 5th ave and there have been many accidents up and down 5th.i think that a camera would be a good deterent to speeders on 5th.after last nite it was the straw.the last straw for many of us who watch and complain to no avail. We all pay taxes and now thanks to the bid all of us who are downtown business owners pay anaadditional 600 plus a year each. Take some of that to improve pedestrian safety in edmonds.school will be out in less then a month.then we have thousands of children on the streets of downtown too.dont talk about it for a year and for gods sake dont let the city council have anything to do with it.just do what needs to be done now! Frustrated and saddened.
    Shannon Trumble
    Owner, ordinary things

  16. I live quite close to last night’s accident and it was heartbreaking to watch the investigation proceed (for many hours into the night) I still think this is a very walk-able town even with all its modes of transport speeding along. It severely reminded me to come to complete stops and look both ways, both on foot and in my car…sheesh, why am I always in such a hurry? It is such a tragic event for both families and even for the town.

    And, only because it has come up above, please remember (for all the souls who have to deal with 5th & Main each day, in and out of cars) THIS IS A 4-WAY STOP. All cars should be using turn signals, making complete stops & proceed only with right of way (yielding to opposing traffic, etc.) It’s a 4-WAY STOP with a fountain in the middle, that’s all. Edmonds finest believes the city’s signage can’t make this 4-WAY STOP any more clear to people. It’s obvious they should reconsider or else the fountain should be relocated before someone gets injured there, too. It’s our busiest intersection after
    all.

  17. We were recently walking with our daughter and grandson, who is two. We started across the crosswalk when a car ran the stop sign inches from the stroller. The Woman didn’t even glance our way as she continued on her way, unaware she almost changed our families lives forever.

  18. The stop signs mean STOP, not roll. After 14 years in the bowl, and the huge increase of traffic, I am still alive and well, have all my body parts in tact, in spite of people failing to give pedestrians (me)the right of way. People will even crawl toward the person crossing the street!!!!!!!!! Come on you guys, remember the laws of the land. When I am the driver, I need/must obey the laws, too. Last and not least, put those phones away. You may be saving your own life.
    Francine Cohen May 21, 2014

  19. I walk the streets of Edmonds frequently each day with my dog. Just the day before this accident occurred I witnessed cars going through the stop sign at this intersection on two different occasions (4th & Bell). Drivers must SLOW down, STAY OFF THEIR PHONES and be CONSIDERATE of pedestrians. Police should be more visible in the “Bowl” at all hours of the day!!!
    This victim was a lovely lady and her death a tragedy!

  20. My wife and I walk several miles a day in Edmonds. While the majority of drivers in our community are still careful and respectful of the rights of pedestrians, we have observed a frightening increase recently in the number of drivers who are callously indifferent, recklessly distracted (usually by cell phones) and/or outright hostile to pedestrians – even when we are in marked crosswalks. Last week I even saw a commuter driver nearly run down a 10 old year old boy crossing Puget Drive with the walk signal on his way to Edmonds elementary school, because she was busy making a “California stop” right turn from Olympic View Drive. The Mayor should require the Edmonds police to have a tough as nails citywide emphasis patrol at least once a week to ticket bad drivers, until this life threatening behavior dramatically improves.

  21. i’ll never forget an assembly in school, many decades ago . . .

    a large, heavy ball, representing the car – IN THE WRONG!

    and a small, lightweight ball, representing the pedestrian, in the right

    the were sent on a collision course…

    these past few years i’ve been thinking a lot about that

    when it comes to pedestrian safety, there is only ONE PERSON with responsible!

    regardless what the driver is or isn’t doing – or how fast the car is going . . .

    i DON’T want to live in a police/surveillance country!

    maybe, just maybe, there is something more important to teach kids than to become a slave to “technologly”???

  22. Same safety issues on the East side of town. A crazy and, at times, dangerous place is 216th going up to Swedish. Swift moving cars, vans, large commercial trucks and the like. Neighborhood includes Aegis Living and a rehab facility, plus many folks walking up (or slowly moving in the wheelchairs) towards clinics or hospital. The problem…sidewalks and curbs that are not ADA compliant. No crosswalk signs, no crosswalk lights to alert drivers, etc. Have seen several wheelchair bound individuals fall out onto 216 from the deficient wheelchair cuts. Seniors moving as quickly as they can to cross the street before the next rush of cars approach. You get the picture, but the City Dept of Public Works does not. They have never responded to requests to become compliant and make this dangerous area safe for the public. Staff from the State and County have seen this area and agree that it is not ADA compliant. But still no response from Public Works. So this version of ‘dangerous Edmonds streets’, exists due to the lack of response from our City when the issue, and solution, is served to them free of charge. Go figure!

  23. If Edmonds became a town that is KNOWN for not tolerating ANYBODY SPEEDING, I believe we would immediately see some changes, once people get ticketed. Afterall, do we want a town of SPEEDING BIG VEHICLES of steel or quietly walking people?!

    I don’t like surveilance either (the ol’ Big Brother from the 60s and Orwell comes to mind, to say the least of civil liberties) BUT I believe this is different …….people are DIEING on our streets, this little town, 8 square miles only…..2 fatalities in a very short period of time and one major injury (probably more too)

    I got a ticket last month in Lynnwood from a camera, and I can tell you after paying the fine, I will not do what I did a second time.

    The Edmonds Police Department is in charge of this, and should be out on the streets, until people get the idea that Edmonds is NOT the place to speed their vehicles. It is the responsibility of the City of Edmonds to make sure its citizens are SAFE…..and right now, they are not safe at all.

    Public Works obviously does not care……They are too busy spending (more like wasting) their time doing pie in the sky granted, totally UNNEEDED , vista-scapes to the stars …….of the rich and famous of Edmonds and there-a-bouts…….

    I’m sorry, I’m mad, and I saw the blood in the street the other day……SHAMEFUL!

    1. I agree. Perhaps there needs to be a Townhall Meeting to show the Mayor and Edmonds Police that there is a large constituent who actually favor crackdowns on speeding. I would rather that happen than another death or injury And, I was thinking about some replies which stated the 5th and Main intersection not being a roundabout but rather a 4way stop. You have a point but when I am driving it, I tend to drive AROUND the fountain. Maybe this is why I almost got hit crossing 5th from Starbucks to Kinderbritches. The driver of the car figured he had the right of way since he had already stopped over by the Mexican restaurant so why stop again when a human being was still walking in the crosswalk? He went by me so suddenly and so close I could feel the air whoosh and see the smirk on his face. Sorry, but this makes me feel fed up, too.

  24. U.S. Attorney, TOM WALES, 2001, Seattle…..Wales at a talk to students in 2001

    “Be engaged; be involved in what goes on around you. Be present in your own life. Find something you believe in passionately and get into it. Get outraged. Take a STAND.”

    John Lennon also said “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”

    Let’s honor these two GREAT MEN whose lives were ended way too soon by acting passionately and TAKING A STAND for the COMMON GOOD!

    1. A much more effective way to take a stand, and bring about change for the common good, is to frequently show up at city council meetings to voice your views during public hearings and when audience comments are taken. Commenting on this site or in the press will get what’s bothering you off of your chest, but will have little affect on the actions of our elected officials.

  25. There are only two ways to gain compliance of a law, increase the enforcement or increase the consequence. The consequences of speeding are controlled at a higher level leaving enforcement as the only variable available for the Edmonds Police. I too do not want to live in a Police State but enforcing a law upon a law breaker is not a Police State. I do not speed through Briar because I know their Police are waiting for me to do so. When I moved to Edmonds, partly because of its walkability, I thought this was a town where you do not speed for the same reason. Pedestrians here are literally dying because Edmonds is now becoming known as a city where you can speed with impunity.

    I also found it very troubling when the killer of Ellie Bonanno, walking in her bright pink jacket, got off by saying, “I didn’t see her”. Apparently the Edmonds Police department and the City of Edmonds Prosecuting Attorney’s Office determined that not paying attention while driving a car does not constitute ‘disregard for the safety of others’ (see below).

    Vehicular homicide in Washington state, is governed by RCW 46.61.520 Vehicular homicide—Penalty.
    (1) When the death of any person ensues within three years as a proximate result of injury proximately caused by the driving of any vehicle by any person, the driver is guilty of vehicular homicide if the driver was operating a motor vehicle:
    a While under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, as defined by RCW 46.61.502; or
    b In a reckless manner; or
    c With disregard for the safety of others.
    (2) Vehicular homicide is a class A felony punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW, except that, for a conviction under subsection (1)(a) of this section, an additional two years shall be added to the sentence for each prior offence as defined in RCW 46.61.5055.

    I will be interesting to see if this driver will face any consequences for her actions, or if Edmonds will finally increase their enforcement of our traffic laws.

  26. Edmonds favorable “walk score” was a significant factor in our move to Edmonds two years ago. The “downtown” area boasts an impressive walk score of 77. As a non-driver and enthusiastic walker, I was pleased to be moving to an area that appeared to welcome pedestrian traffic. The two fatalities in the last half-year in that same downtown area and several near misses of my own have caused me to wonder if the score reflects the reality of walking in Edmonds.

    I live at the busy intersection of 3rd and Dayton – a four way stop with four clearly marked crosswalks. I have watched drivers turn without first checking the crosswalks, proceed through the intersection while pedestrians are still in the crosswalk and, consistently, drive at speeds that would not permit a safe sudden stop. I have never seen a car stopped for a speeding violation.

    Ideally, the small downtown core should be closed to automobile traffic to make it safer and more attractive. At the very least, existing traffic laws should be strictly enforced through the area.

  27. This was just sent out by the Beacon. We may want to mark the date on our calendars and give this subject of Pedestrian Safety a strong voice:

    Mayor Earling schedules town hall
    May 21, 2014 Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on gmail More Sharing Services
    0
    In an effort to increase communication between the City and Edmonds residents, Mayor Dave Earling has scheduled the first in a series of town hall meetings he plans to host throughout Edmonds.

    First up – Perrinville, scheduled from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12, at the Corner Coffee Bar & Café, 18401 76th Ave. W., Edmonds.

    During his “State of the City” address earlier this year, Mayor Earling discussed the need for better, more open communication and his plans to publish bi-weekly articles in the local media and hold quarterly town hall meetings; other plans include experimentation with Facebook, YouTube, and Google Plus, and are scheduled to launch over the coming weeks.

    To date, there have been 10 articles written about varying topics and by various individuals, including Mayor Earling, the Port, Swedish, and city directors, and published in the Edmonds Beacon and in MyEdmondsNews.com.

    The Perrinville Town Hall will be the first town hall meeting.

    The meetings will provide the community with an overview of the City, information on current issues relating to the specific area they live in, and an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

    Along with the mayor, city directors will also be in attendance and will provide brief presentations.

    Two more meetings will be scheduled for later in the year at other locations throughout town. These meetings will focus on issues related to those areas.

    For questions or more information, contact the Mayor’s Office at 425-771-0247.

  28. Mr. Wambolt

    I have showed up at MANY Edmonds City Council meetings, and not everybody can attend meetings at night after a long day of work, kids, chores, animals to tend, etc. ………..

    **** Mr. Wambolt, you are WRONG that persons voicing their opinions in print and or internet news medias are doing nothing but “get it off your chest”…….Some people ONLY have the time to read internet or print media…….And quite frankly, THAT is what most young people do now…….The INTERNET is where it is POSSIBLE to change things globally

    .The war in Vietnam was finally stopped after not only thousands protested, but LETTERS actually sent to ALL of the national and local newspapers by thouands and thousands (over & over across the nation and to our government officials) made a huge difference and turned the tide against that war that took 57,000!…………….Not EVERYBODY could show up at those protests either

    And now, with the internet, one can reach many, many more than those that are sitting in a room of perhaps 30 people…Not that it isn’t a good idea to have a presence at the City Council, but you get my meaning

  29. In defense of the Edmonds Police, I made a dangerous mistake at 5 corners a couple of years ago. It was evening and dark. There wasn’t much traffic. When I stopped at the intersection I noticed the Police car across the intersection at the other stop sign. I made sure I had the right of way between the two of us and proceeded through the intersection. The Officer immediately pulled me over. In my trying to be compliant with the rules of the road with the other car I completely missed the fact that a pedestrian was in the crosswalk on the street to my left. Although the pedestrian was still 10 or 12 feet away from my car and it was dark (and they were dressed in dark clothes), it was most certainly a dangerous move on my part.
    The Officer asked me if I saw the pedestrian. When I told him no he said “that’s what I was afraid of”. He ticketed me, and rightly so. It was a definite reminder to me to not only be careful regarding traffic but, even more importantly, be doubly careful that there are no pedestrians trying to cross.
    There are times when I see pedestrians jay walking and many times I watch people walk into crosswalks or from corner to corner without checking for traffic.
    One place that is a serious concern is on 100th at the Former Edmonds Woodway High School. I drive past there every day to work and rarely see traffic slow when the school zone flashing light is active or there are students on the sidewalks. Often they are even speeding!
    Let’s all take responsibility for the safety of our community. We all have to watch for one another, be courteous, slow down and stay alert. I too would like to see the Police be more active at ticketing speeders, but I know they are stretched thin and hope we can “police” ourselves.

  30. The citizens of Edmonds do not need more slick meetings and prepared presentations, particularily when 2 people are already dead.

    This isn’t rocket science!!

    We just need this government RIGHT NOW to do what it is being PAID FOR by US right now, the CITIZENS that are paying YOU! We need the streets SAFE NOW. Very Simple! …….painting two white lines on the street to designate a walk crossing (and a SIGN) where Ms. Bonano was crossing when hit and killed, is not rocket science. …..If it IS for this City and it’s Staff then we need to start looking for new people that CARE about its citizens, and that will spend OUR money on BASIC important safeguards on our streets and sidewalks rather than unneeded items…..and it looks like those unneeded items will be in the millions…

    I have been to some of the City planned meetings/ Mayor Staff “presentations” and watched as staff for the city were asked questions and never actually answered the important questions but talked around circles and circles to NOWHERE…..This also happened at City Council meetings. One Sunset Project “presentation” I went to, the whole of the meeting was ONLY presentation by Public Works, with no input from citizens allowed……THAT didn’t fit THEIR agenda!……It had absolutely NOTHING to do with the citizens present and their input.

    Also, I have watched the Mayor’s Public Works/Staff people actually smirk and laugh at elderly citizens giving quite intelligent and important presentations……These people taking the time to come out late at night with their questions and presentations, surveys. .Some of these people in their late 70s, early 80s……..It was particularily shameful that one of the smirkers was a Director………

    EVERYTHING starts at the top…..so we need ACTION NOW…..Enough talk, smirking, slick presentations and avoiding answering questions and talking in circles.

    Enough presentation….JUST DO YOUR JOBS. You ALL work for us, and can easily be replaced. And ALL of you as our government need to FOLLOW THE LAW.

    NOBODY is above the LAW.

  31. A couple things:

    One is that I often hear as a solution for the problem of traffic accidents is that ‘people just need to be more careful’ or ‘the police need to do their job better’, etc. I find this kind of comment frustrating because it does not take into account human nature. Any increased enforcement or increased vigilance by the community, regardless if it actually works or not, will disappear after a while. Human nature is to ignore good judgment in the interest of expedience. It’s always been this way. If the police start ticketing more people will complain about that. As horrible as it is, this is not the first tragedy to happen. History has been repeating itself, we must do something substantially different with the way we handle traffic.

    What we need are physical infrastructure that will control the speed and divert traffic away from sensitive areas. By physically rerouting traffic (my previous comment about making Main street pedestrian only) or at least physically slowing it down you will have eternal vigilance built in to the system.

    To just ask other people to be more careful is folly. For the vast population not affected directly by this, they will continue business as usual.

    Second, for Mr Wambolt, I also really don’t like the assertion that ‘to make things happen you have to show up at the town hall meeting’. This is a outdated concept that discriminates against people who work for a living or are otherwise busy with their responsibilities. Especially people who work evenings. It favors moneyed interests who can spare the time (or spokesperson) and is unfavorable to your common working citizen. There needs to be an online forum given equal weight for those with Edmonds citizenship.

    1. Mr. Young:
      You’re “shooting the messenger”. I’ve simply stated what I know to be most effective. Those that cannot attend council meetings could email elected officials; that’s generally not as effective, but is better than doing nothing.

      1. Mr. Wambolt,
        I am not saying you created this problem. Sorry if you got that impression. I referenced your name so people would know the comment/context of what I was talking about.

        A physical town hall meeting is an antiquated system for feedback.

        Actually it’s worse than antiquated. It’s a way for politicians to avoid the desires of their constituency. To preserve the idea that unless you physically show up for an inconvenient meeting, posted in some obscure place, wait through presentations, and excel at 2 minute sound bite public speaking, then your voice isn’t going to be heard; well that is completely absurd in this day and age. All these great electronic ‘social’ communication tools and the old “hear ye, hear ye!” trumps them all.

        Of course, if you didn’t want to hear what the constituency wanted, it’s a great system. Moneyed interests somehow manage to gain the ear of politicians without attending a single town hall meeting while people just getting by have to jump through the hoops. That sounds more like oligarchy than democracy.

  32. To Greg Larson. Thank you for voicing the astonishing truth that the guy who killed my dear friend Ellie was not charged with anything! In Edmonds apparently if you don’t pay attention to your driving and not see the old lady in the middle of the street many yards in front of you and run her over and kill her it is OK because “you did not see her”. I wrote a letter to the mayor and for it to be forwarded to the chief of police and to this day have gotten no response from either of them! i will gladly copy the letter to anyone interested.
    To James, and Tere my frustrations were more than equal to yours. I suggested speed bumps on Walnut (can’t do it could damage the ambulances..) and making downtown core car free…, giving speeding tickets…. nothing worked and after years of being ignored one gets fed up…and moves.
    Ron Wambolt does have a point that the city council does have a tendency to listen to citizens if they are numerous enough about one issue but all the arguments about not being able to show up at meetings are very valid, it is taxing in time and energy. You could inundate the city councilors with your emails. That actually works to some degree but they too will face the good ol’ boys system of Edmonds police and leadership.
    You all have a vote and that is your best weapon to make things happen so remember that at polling time. Remember those city councilors and mayor that listen and try to act rather than just give lip service and are self serving.
    I think also a massive one day rally of a huge amount of citizens that would demand police start doing their job would be helpful and even attract state and national attention. That might get Edmonds’ leadership’s attention. It all starts from the top. May be a new chief of Police from the outside might make the necessary changes needed to make Edmonds a safer place to live. How many more deaths does the leadership of Edmonds need before implementing meaningful speeding deterrents?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.

By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.