"The Danger Zone" is still frustrating Roosevelt neighbors

An area off of Alabama Street known as “The Danger Zone” is a cause for concern amongst local neighbors.

Texas Street resident Charles Shaw is adamant about placing a crosswalk in between Woburn Street and Pacific Street.

“There is no marked pedestrian crosswalk in the area where there are eight bus stops, a child center, and a community park a short distance away,” said Shaw. “As traffic travels exceeding speeds of 35 mph, you are on your own.”

One child has already been hit in this area.

A boy was struck by a car while crossing Alabama Street on the evening of Dec. 20, 2010. The boy was crossing the street with his mother at about 5:20 p.m. after they got off a Whatcom Transportation Authority bus on the south side of Alabama, according to a police report. The boy was not injured but was taken to the hospital.

Pam Davis is the director at Kids Korner, a childcare center located on the corner of Alabama and Undine Street, directly in the middle of “The Danger Zone.”

“That boy was the older sibling of one of our kids,” said Davis. “He was walking here [Kids Korner] with his mom. She let go of him for a second and he got hit.”

“A lot of our families take the bus to get here and it’s not efficient or realistic for them to cross at Woburn three blocks away,” she said. “I see all sorts of people running across four lanes of busy traffic every day.”

Davis said this only reemphasized the dire need for a crosswalk.

“It has been a problem for years and the city isn’t doing anything about it,” said Davis. “My manager’s husband has called the city about it several times but they obviously have other priorities.” 

Davis found it interesting that none of the concerned neighbors had come to talk to her about the issue considering the location of the childcare center.

            Multiple Roosevelt neighbors attended the February City Council meeting and spoke about the need for a crosswalk, but no action has been taken yet.

“According to a traffic blog on the Bellingham Herald, 622 pedestrians have been killed in traffic crashes in the state since 2000,” said Shaw at the meeting. “State law says vehicles must stop for pedestrians crossing roads both in marked and unmarked crosswalks. It seems someone forgot to tell that to the evening commute on Alabama Street.”

Roosevelt Community Church pastor Kurt Ingram also took the stand.

“One of the central things we want to address is the need to cross safely across Alabama specifically between Pacific and Woburn,” Ingram said. “There are no lights, no crosswalk and lots of business and pedestrians. Plenty of parents are crossing four lanes of traffic to get to the childcare center.”

Bellingham City Council could not be reached for comment. 

“We’re not asking for a stop light, just a simple flashing crosswalk like the one at Fred Meyer,” said Davis. “Hopefully the city will come around and realize what is important to Bellingham citizens.”