I’m writing to say how angered I was by a response published in your “Street Smarts” column on Monday. A Stanwood resident wrote in to ask about the possibility of getting turn lanes on Highway 532 leading in and out of Stanwood for the hundreds of citizens who live off these side roads. The response from state traffic engineer Dongho Chang was that a ranking system is used to prioritize intersection improvements, and “there are many intersections ranked higher than yours for a left-turn lane.” I found that comment inconsiderate at the least.
I also live off one of these side roads and experience the fear you feel while waiting to take a left turn off this road. I’ve watched in my rear view mirror while people fly by on the right at 50 mph – in spite of the fact that it is illegal. I’ve had cars, dump trucks and even school buses pass on the right with barely inches to spare. How would state transportation officials like to be the children and grandchildren of the woman who was rear-ended while waiting to turn and pushed head on into traffic? Or the husband who gets a call that his wife and two children are in the hospital after trying to cross traffic and were hit broadside?
This may seem very trivial to some, but to us, it’s a matter of life and death. We used to think it would take a death to get action on this road but now that there have been deaths, we’re wondering how many.
Lori Bowers
Sunday Lake Community
Stanwood
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