Resident raises concerns about traffic on road near Homann Park, Lacey Elementary School
A Lacey resident raised concerns with the city council Thursday night about traffic on a corner of Glen Mary Drive Southeast, near Homann Park and Lacey Elementary School.
Fern Humphrey, who moved to her Glen Mary Drive home in May 2021, told the council there have been four traffic-related incidents near her, “three of which were parked cars getting hit by someone flying around the corner (in their vehicle), either overshooting the road or not watching what they were doing and also driving too fast for conditions,” she said.
On Monday afternoon, somebody drove through the bushes and into a tree, Humphrey added. That information was confirmed by a Thurston County dispatcher, who said the single-vehicle crash took place in the 1300 block of Glen Mary Drive Southeast.
“I’m worried that one of these days it will be a kid or somebody walking,” Humphrey said, pointing out that Lacey Elementary School is nearby.
Humphrey asked the city to install some safety features.
Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder said he grew up in the area and knows about the traffic on Glen Mary Drive.
“I know exactly what you’re talking about,” said Ryder, then said city staff would follow up with her.
“We will keep you informed of what we’re going to do next,” he said.
If Humphrey’s traffic-calming request sounds familiar, it’s because the city recently completed a multi-year look at traffic on Lebanon Street Southeast, about a half-mile from Glen Mary Drive.
That Lebanon Street study concluded with property owners along the street voting not to install a permanent traffic-calming device on the street. If 60 percent of the owners had voted in favor of it, then they would have shared the costs of that work with the city.
Ryder has expressed concern that the cost-sharing is the deterrent for property owners.
“I just didn’t want the cost to be the one thing,” said Ryder during a City Council work session on April 14.
Although the traffic-calming policy was discussed Thursday, the council made no changes to it. But some questions were asked.
Council member Robin Vazquez asked whether there are cities that don’t do cost-sharing and pay the full cost for traffic-calming projects.
Lacey engineer Roger Schoessel said some wealthier communities, such as Bellevue, have set aside funds for such projects. But he also added that Bellevue has a $1.2 billion operations budget.
Vazquez countered that “Bellevue has speed bumps all over the place in their residential areas.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
