By reporter Steven Smalley
The crosswalk at 32nd Avenue West & Raye takes another beating as the reflective sign, recently installed to warn drivers, was apparently hit by an unknown car.
?I?m really upset that someone would run this over,? exclaims Elizabeth Servey, a Blaine School parent. ?It absolutely disturbs me that we can?t put a safer intersection here.?
Pat Craft, another Blaine parent, leads the effort requesting the city install what is officially referred to as a controlled intersection: a 4-way stop. It was Craft who discovered the crosswalk sign lying on the side of the road ? black marks and automobile detritus indicate the essence of the collision.
?I think we all need to be thankful this 3-foot sign is not a kid today. I think it?s tragic. Despite it?s highly reflective nature, it was still run down. So what chance does a kid have in the street? It?s sickening,? he says. ?We have an overlay of vibrant activities ? a busy pool at 120,000 people per season, 10,000 visits per week at the Albertson?s, an active sports area, and a K-8 school where 500 kids line up right here. We want to establish a right-of-way control, commonly known as a 4-way stop. It would bring sense to the madness that occurs here every day.?
In 1989, Judy Maleng, Magnolia resident and now widow of King County prosecutor Norm Maleng, lost her child to a roadway accident. Karen Maleng was killed sledding down a snow-covered?McGraw Street (corrected)?where she ran into a parked car.
Mrs. Maleng spoke with Magnolia Voice about her view on the crosswalk at 32nd and Raye.
?It?s dangerous. I never take the street in the summer. It scares me. It?s an accident waiting to happen,? she asserts. ?It?s the most dangerous place in Magnolia in the summer. I see the area. I see the kids.
The pool is so busy. Something?s going to happen there. There?s no doubt in my mind.?
Maleng was instrumental in raising money to build the Lowery C. ?Pop? Mounger Pool. She believes with enough resolve, a 4-way stop can happen.
?With determination and grit, while building a coalition, I feel strongly about a way to get this done. It?s an opportunity to do the right thing,? she believes.
Craft wants to improve the safety of the intersection with not only a 4-way control, there is also an additional impediment in the form of a 12-foot hedge that obstructs sight lines to the north.
?It completely blocks northbound vision from the intersection. If you?re in a car you cannot see because this hedge has clearly grown into the street and is violating codes for vegetation at a street corner. It has grown beyond the planting strip. The city maintains it?s a property owner issue. We maintain it?s in the street so the city must take action on it. The hedge is only one problem here.
The effort to improve the area surrounding the crosswalk has met official resistance, Craft says.
?What we have here thus far is the tweaking of the intersection by the city. None of it has been adequate to address the issues.?
According to Craft, the city believes the road does not qualify for the signage, although a recent survey shows it does under federal guidelines. Now more parents are calling for action.
?It?s not worth waiting until someone is hurt,? Servey notes. ?The city should fix it. Period. ASAP. My number one request would be a 4-way stop.?
With the conviction of a mother who lost her child in a roadway accident, Maleng thinks the 4-way stop can happen.
?I?m optimistic,? she says. ?I believe in the stop sign. It?s an opportunity to do the right thing.?
The playground adjacent to the Magnolia Community Center is now called Karen?s Place in honor of Karen Maleng.