Spokane Valley city staff considering 4-way stop at Eighth Avenue and McDonald Road

June 7, 2017 Updated Wed., June 7, 2017 at 4:09 p.m.

By Pia Hallenberg piah@spokesman.com (509) 459-5427

Valley council meetings

June 13: All-day budget workshop, at 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in council chambers. It is open to the public. There will be no evening meeting.

June 20: Meeting is canceled because a number of council members are at a conference.

June 27: 6 p.m.

Open house

The Pines Road and Grace Avenue intersection safety project will be the focus of the open house June 12, 5-7 p.m., at CenterPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Place. Presentations will be at 5:15 p.m. and at 6:15 p.m.

The project will widen Pines Road (state Highway 27) to allow for a left turn lane onto Grace Avenue and improve the sight distance for drivers entering the highway from Grace.

Construction is expected to begin later this summer.

For more information, call Spokane Valley’s Craig Aldworth at (509) 720-5001.

The intersection of Eighth Avenue and McDonald Road in Spokane Valley has been accident prone for some time, and Councilwoman Pamela Haley has heard a lot of complaints from residents about the spot.

Now the city is considering installing a four-way stop there.

Eighth Avenue has a stop sign but McDonald Road does not, and Assistant City Manager John Hohman said accidents in the intersection seem to happen because stopping traffic doesn’t wait long enough.

“Drivers misjudge the distance to oncoming traffic,” Hohman said, adding later that it’s time to do something to ensure the safety of drivers there.

In October, larger-than-normal stop signs were put up, and vegetation was trimmed along Eighth Avenue to increase visibility, but there have been three crashes since those improvements. One was DUI-related.

Hohman said a detailed study of the intersection suggested several changes:

Lower the speed limit on Eighth Avenue to 30 mph from Pines to Sullivan roads.

Address a utility pole, shrubs and a fence that may obstruct view.

Install blinking lights on the stop signs.

Or put in a four-way stop.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Hohman said staff was leaning toward a four-way stop.

Deputy Mayor Arne Woodard asked if incremental solutions like rumble strips and lights could be pursued first, but Spokane Valley Senior Traffic Engineer Ray Wright said, in his experience, incremental changes often don’t bring on the desired result.

“Blinking lights tend to be vandalized,” Wright said.

Haley, who’s brought resident complaints to the City Council several times, supported a four-way stop.

“I don’t know that a flashing yellow light will do anything to anyone,” Haley said. “I see people blow right by the flashing yellow light at school zones, even while crossing guards stand right there.”

Wright said a four-way stop would cause some delays at the intersection, and that it is no guarantee there will never be another crash.

“It takes some time for drivers to get used to a new traffic pattern,” Wright said.

Staff will return with a recommendation at the next council meeting.