On Sunday, July 25, the normally quiet evening air of the Issaquah Highlands filled with gasps, screams and emergency sirens after a 59-year-old woman, out walking her dog, was hit by a car while walking across the pedestrian crosswalk at 15th Avenue NE and NE Park Drive. The driver of the car, a 29-year-old Seattle man, was making a left turn out of an apartment complex onto westbound Park Drive when his vehicle struck the woman and her dog, crossing over Park Drive.
The driver pulled over and gave the injured woman CPR until medics from the nearby Eastside Fire and Rescue station could respond. The woman was transported to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. Her condition has since been upgraded to “serious.” Her dog died at the scene.
The accident brings to the fore existing traffic concerns. Resident TK Panni, who lives on Park Drive, has long been concerned about the pace at which drivers zip through the area and has raised the issue with the city.
“They lowered the speed limit once you’re up the hill, and police enforcement around the school had an impact for a while,” he said. But he feels drivers still create dangerous conditions because they race “mindlessly” down the hill at speeds in excess of 35 mph.
Speed doesn’t appear to have been a factor in Sunday night’s accident. Initial reports from Issaquah Police said the driver did not see the woman, though investigators are still talking with witnesses.
Continuing their investigation, officers visited the site the following evening at about 7 p.m., the same time the accident took place, to see if the setting sun may have reduced visibility.
The intersection doesn’t have a blind spot — the trees and shrubs are well maintained — but drivers who are turning left from the apartments must cross a row of parked cars, a bike lane, a traffic and turn lane, and the median before heading down Park Drive. As someone is familiar with the area, Panni theorizes the setting sun may have played a role.
Regardless of the final outcome of the police inquiry, changes are in the works for that intersection. Councilman Mark Mullet told The Reporter that a traffic light was one example of improvements in the neighborhood “that the community wants, but was unable to fund at this time.”
Issaquah Highlands developer Port Blakely also supports a traffic light at the intersection, and said it was part of the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) agreement they are working on with the City of Issaquah.
“It is part of the TDR deal and would be installed next summer,” said Port Blakely Senior Advisor Judd Kirk. “Prior to that, the Issaquah Highlands Community Association, Port Blakely and the city will all be looking at what other things can be done in the meantime.”
