Community leaders support 4-way stop

By reporter Steven Smalley

Many of the pillars of the Magnolia community were on hand Tuesday morning during one of the busiest times of the day at the 32nd Ave W and W Raye St crosswalk.  They were there to witness the traffic (both vehicle and foot),  as pedestrians attempted to cross the street on the way to school. While hundreds of students and their families walked to Catharine Blaine K-8, members of the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Queen Anne/Magnolia Community Council and others gathered to view the safety dance as walkers mixed with drivers traveling through the intersection.
At the same time, a solar-powered blinking LED stop sign was demonstrated to give everyone an idea of what a controlled intersection might look like,

All in attendance who spoke with Magnolia Voice supported the idea of a new 4-way stop.
“It’s a no-brainer. It’s obvious,” said Don Nielsen, Magnolia resident and former member of the Board of Directors for Seattle Schools. “I just can’t get over the amount of traffic in that crosswalk in the time since we’ve been here. It’s amazing.”
Nielsen’s wife, Melissa Mounger Nielsen is the daughter of Lowery “Pop” Mounger after whom the pool is named. A long time Magnolia resident, she also supports the idea of a controlled intersection in front of the city’s busiest swimming pool.
“What we have observed in the last half hour, it’s just incredible,” she said. “This has to be changed. Something has to be done.”

Rotary Club member Robert Gaston, agreed. “I see the solution offered as an excellent one. The flashing LED stop sign will get everybody’s attention,” he said. “I hope that all responsible would say, yes.”
Compounding the congestion, Albertson’s attracts over 10,000 shoppers per week to the area. A concerned store director Jonathan Hunter was also in attendance.
“I don’t think this should be an idea, I think this should be done,” he insisted. “The city needs to recognize there’s a safety issue here.”
Event organizer, Pat Craft, who lives near the intersection with his wife and 11-year-old son was hopeful.
“Today was about gathering community groups so they can see the great product available if we get city approval for a 24/7 stop sign,” he explains. “We’re trying to get the city to look beyond the data and look to the experience here. We want them to apply the guidelines to the chaos.”
Although invited, according to Craft, city officials from the Seattle Department of Transportation did not attend, citing previously scheduled engagements.
Craft encourages those interested in securing a controlled intersection at 32nd and Raye to contact the Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), Scott Kubly. Click here for more information about the effort to install a controlled intersection at 32nd and Raye.