Please attend listening session with city staff next Tuesday

The Olympia City Council heard once again from South Capitol Neighborhood Association (SCNA) board members and residents at their June 18th meeting. Originally, the plan was to speak at the city council’s June 11th meeting, but as it was a study session, no public comment was taken.

South Capitol board members and neighbors initially raised concerns at the city council’s March 7th meeting and were rewarded for their efforts with supportive responses from five of the seven members.

Comments made at the June 18th meeting focused instead on proposed solutions to address speeding and safety on Capitol Way. Treacy Duerfeldt, traffic committee co-chair, shared the board’s 17 ideas (list below) with council and staff.

Treacy also sent a follow-up note to the council members with supporting attachments:

• A letter from Marcela Abadi, principal of Lincoln Elementary, in support of creating a school zone between 19th and 24th Avenues
• Road Diets – a livability fact sheet produced by AARP
• Two City of Bellevue diagrams on speed hump marking and signing
• A letter from neighbor Kate White to city staff, describing last Saturday’s accident in front of her house (photo above), a recent and extreme example of road rage directed at her last week, and four suggestions for changing drivers’ behavior along Capitol Way.

One of the suggestions is to install traffic cameras that issue tickets, escalating fines for repeat offenders, which she said the city can now do, based on a new law passed by the Legislature this year. She also noted that fines double in a school zone, and she supports its creation.

The June 18th city council meeting was recorded and can be viewed on the OLYTV website. Public comment begins at 31 minutes, 40 seconds in the recording.

If you would like copies of the attachment, please contact Treacy at treacy2@cirelearning.org.

---

The city has scheduled a listening session next Tues, June 25 from 6 – 7:30 pm in the council chambers at city hall for members of the community to share their concerns about speeding on Capitol Way. Public Works and Police Department staff will be there to listen and answer questions.

SCNA board members will be attending, but we would appreciate your support and involvement as well.

If you are interested in sharing your concerns about speeding and safety on Capitol Way or sharing any ideas for addressing this problem, please join us.

If you plan to attend, please rsvp by sending a note to Max DeJarnatt, public works staff, at mdejarna@ci.olympia.wa.us and please cc Treacy.

Thank you for supporting us in addressing this problem.

---

Solutions proposed by the South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board

• Speed bumps – Emergency Vehicles ok with design. No mechanical impact till after 40 mph. Nothing new under the sun. With warning signage. See successful implementation by Bellevue.
• Turtles – Dimple strip. Rumble Strip. Delineators. Three or four intersections, bright yellow paint. Flashing light. Grooves as an alternative in case speed humps are somehow impossible.
• Lit Signage – Some specific to speed. Lighted signs are getting the needed attention.
• New and Improved Crosswalks – Additional and existing enhanced crosswalks all with flashing lights.
• Timing of lights on Maple and 20th – These need to be timed to make speeding inconvenient. Willful speeders may likely blow through the lights as well, but that’s why we have law enforcement.
• Signed school zone at 20th – Similar to those on the westside with lights during active periods.
• Positive reinforcement – Traffic camera that enters plates into lottery for prizes, e.g. free oil changes for a year by a local dealership or repair facility.
• More orange flags – At all crossings, be sure orange hand-held flags are available.
• Permanent speed advisory signs – Bellevue has used these in 11 spots. Note also how Bellevue has already studied and engineered many of the solutions.
• Narrowing lanes and/or adding bike lanes as a long-term solution – Bike lanes could then make sense and be safe. See prior study and example studies. Currently bikes are using sidewalks and making walking dangerous.
• Islands – Used to force one lane each way using both middle lanes. Beautification to enhance feel of South Capitol neighborhood. “Adopt a median” campaign. Imagine flower gardens every other block protected by curbing and using 4×4 raised beds maintained by neighborhood residents.
• Proven Safety Countermeasures – ContactTreacy for attachments.
• Law Enforcement – Trying to clearly demonstrate effort on the willful violators. Others can simply be made aware or see where speeding isn’t “so easy.”
• More signage – Install more crosswalk signs with flashers on the road and signs.
• More stoplights – Additional stoplights, especially just before the I-5 overpass near the curve.
• Artwork – Use artwork to draw attention to traffic signs, e.g. creative use of frog images.
• Jersey barriers – Use them to form a diamond in the middle of Capitol Way at two or three locations, placing impact barrels at either end of the diamonds for safety. This could periodically leave only the two outside lanes north and south, thereby constricting traffic speed. Flower gardens could be maintained by the neighborhood inside the diamonds and on top of the barrels.