Federal Way students protest dangerous intersection on Pacific Highway

Federal Way students protested a dangerous intersection on Pacific Highway again Wednesday morning.

HAPPENING NOW: Federal Way HS students are demanding the city take action to make this intersection safer.

They tell me drivers consistently run red lights while they’re crossing the street to school.

An organizer says 1 of those cars hit her friend. The friend is recovering. pic.twitter.com/hOcRg1zzUU

— Sam Campbell (@HeySamCampbell) December 19, 2023

They were holding a quick rally here before class started. It just lasted from 6:50 a.m. to about 7:20 a.m.

The students were marching across the Pacific Highway. Some were chanting, “Am I next?” and “Let us walk.”

This is the second day in a row that students are protesting at the intersection.

The reason is that they say this particular intersection of Pacific Highway and South 308 is very dangerous for them, especially in the dark season when they’re trying to walk to school.

They said that when they’re going to school early in the morning, drivers are often running red lights here on Pacific Highway.

One of their organizers at this protest said she had a personal reason to be out there.

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“The last person that actually got hit by a car in the last six months was my closest friend,” Marianne said. “She came out of Harbor View probably like two weeks ago.”

A driver hit a student there while she walked to school in late November. The exact circumstances are unclear, but students point to dark conditions and red-light-running drivers as a constant risk.

Mayor Jim Ferrell suggests students share the blame, though.

“We’ve gotta make sure that pedestrians stop looking at their cellphones, be aware of their circumstances, and do not cross the street when cars have a green light,” Ferrell said. “”No degree of signage is going to fix the problems if a student walks into the road in front of a green light.”

Ferrell said the city is working on a potential speed reduction, added signs, flashing lights and an awareness campaign for pedestrians.

The students tell KIRO Newsradio that they have been trying for months to reach out to school administration and city officials to try and press the envelope here about getting some extra safety precautions at this specific intersection.

Federal Way school officials said in a statement, “Dr. (Dani) Pfeiffer (Federal Way Schools Superintendent) and Mayor (Jim) Ferrell have been working together to identify and implement short- and long-term solutions to address safety at the intersection. As part of this process, members of the team have been in direct communication with students and staff at Federal Way High School to hear their ideas and feedback to inform next steps. If the solutions identified impact the intersection itself, this team will collaborate with WSDOT on implementation, as Pacific Highway is a state highway.

The man whose daughter got hit was standing at the intersection during the protest.

He said that he got a call on November 29 while at work and was told that, apparently, a truck driver had run a red light and crashed into his daughter.

She was severely injured, but he says she is now recovering.

Steven Waters said he doesn’t want anything like what happened to his daughter to happen again.

“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” he said. “They deserve better from the city to the schools. We have to protect our children.”

Waters also tells me he hasn’t heard much from city officials and the school or police either.

Waters said he is humbled by the big show of support from his daughter’s friends and other students.

There were about 100-150 students at the protest.

Sam Campbell is a reporter for KIRO Newsradio.

Follow @https://twitter.com/HeySamCampbell