LAKE STEVENS — Payton Stevenson, 13, was hit by a car recently while crossing the street to get to one of the few sidewalks in his neighborhood.
The car’s left front tire ran over his lower leg and he suffered a compound fracture.
He’s on the mend now after the Aug. 13 accident and is expected to fully recover. The accident was his fault, he admits — he didn’t look both ways before going out into the street on his skateboard.
Still, his aunt, Gretchen Muldowney, says the incident underscores the need for better traffic safety in her neighborhood south of Lake Stevens.
“My kids can’t get around the lake safely,” she said.
Many busy residential streets in and around Lake Stevens don’t have sidewalks. It’s a byproduct of the growth and changes in Lake Stevens and the county as a whole, officials say.
“We’re going from a rural to an urban standard,” said Dave Ostergard, public works director for the city of Lake Stevens. While some streets without sidewalks have wide shoulders, others have none at all.
Muldowney’s home is on S. Lake Stevens Road near the south end of the lake in unincorporated Snohomish County. Payton and her son Jacob, 15, are allowed to go only a short distance up the street, and they must use the sidewalk — when they can reach it. The Muldowneys also have two other children, 8 and 10.
“The younger children we’ve never let near the road,” Jim Muldowney said.
The Muldowneys’ friend and neighbor, Jennifer Cagle, doesn’t let her three kids walk in the neighborhood at all.
“I keep them far away from that road,” she said. “I live a block down from Gretchen and our kids can’t walk to each other. I drive everywhere. You cannot walk. On this end of the lake, there’s no way you can walk.”
County officials acknowledge that the road is a busy one but say there isn’t much money available.
South Lake Stevens Road near Muldowney’s home is 47th out of more than 250 projects on a list of places needing sidewalks, according to Bobann Fogard, director of the county’s transportation and environmental services division.
Priority for sidewalks projects include traffic volumes, whether schools are nearby, and accident history, Fogard said.
Muldowney and Cagle say they’d like to see the speed limit on the street lowered from 30 to 25 mph. But the street is a collector-arterial, and the speed limit was already lowered once from 35 to 30 mph, according to Jim Bloodgood, a county traffic engineer.
Lack of sidewalks has been an issue in the nearby city of Lake Stevens, where much of the city was unincorporated until recently. Still, even in the main part of the city, several areas are still lacking sidewalks, officials said.
The city has applied for more than $1.8 million in grants for sidewalks, has set aside $100,000 and is prepared to tap another fund for $400,000 to match one of the grants, officials said.
The grants would pay for sidewalks in the vicinity of North Middle School and Pilchuck Elementary School, near Grade Road, 22nd Street NE, 20th Street NE and 123rd Street NE, Ostergard said.
The city also is assessing all of incorporated Lake Stevens to determine where sidewalks are lacking, Ostergard said.
The city’s long-term plans call for annexing the east and south sides of Lake Stevens. “One city around the lake” has been the rallying cry for some people.
It’s not certain if or when annexation will happen, but as of now, the city wouldn’t have the money to build sidewalks outside city limits, city administrator Jan Berg said.
“That’s part of the financial puzzle,” she said.
The city is looking at creative ways of financing, including having property owners pitch in on improvement districts and easements, Ostergard said.
If the city were to annex her area, Muldowney said she’s game. She’d even be willing to take down part of her brand new fence to create room for a sidewalk on her side of the street.
Until then, she’ll keep driving the younger children to their friends’ houses and being very selective about where she lets the older ones go.
“Once in a blue moon, I’ve allowed Jacob to take the little one with,” she said. “The only way to do it is to pray the whole time.”
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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