The number of people hit by cars in Spokane climbed a little more than 40% last year, a worrisome jump that is spurring calls for better traffic safety measures.
Margo Hill, an associate professor of urban planning at Eastern Washington University, lost her nephew last year when he was hit by a car crossing Division Street in north Spokane. She believes Division is a high-speed road that is not safe for pedestrians. When there are main one-way roads with multiple lanes and a lack of crosswalks, there are more fatalities, Hill said.
“It takes some time to make those improvements,” she said. “But when we know better, we should do better.”
The Spokane Police Department recorded 196 pedestrian crashes last year with nine fatalities. While the number of car collisions in 2023 dropped from 2022, the number of pedestrians struck by cars increased. The city recorded 3,898 vehicle collisions.
Still pending is the cause of death of 32-year-old Niket Everett, a man who was found dead on Pettet Drive near Nora Avenue on Dec. 5. Cpl. Nick Briggs said at the scene it was a “possible hit-and-run” because the man was found in the road, but it was too early to determine what happened. His death is not included in the number of pedestrian deaths recorded by the police department because it is still under investigation.
North Pettet Drive is a “great example of how dangerous our infrastructure is,” said Spokane Valley resident Erik Lowe, who started advocating for traffic safety improvements in 2021 after determining it was unsafe to ride his bicycle with his toddler. Most people don’t drive the speed limits, he said, and people are more focused on their car rather than a person trying to cross a street – especially when the infrastructure in the area doesn’t include a flashing crosswalk or wide sidewalks.
The sidewalk on Pettet Drive doesn’t continue down the road. It ends at the intersection of Augusta Avenue near the West Central Community Center. Pedestrians who want to continue walking down Pettet Drive have to cross the street without a marked crosswalk to the other side.
There are no lights illuminating the area.
Pedestrians hit by cars have a 15% chance of survival if the car is going 40 mph, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. If the car is going 30 mph, the pedestrian has a 55% chance of survival.
Among the concerns shared by Hill, Lowe said Division Street is one of the most dangerous roads in Spokane. Of the nine deaths recorded in 2023, four were on Division.
Pedestrians “have to go a long way” before crossing Division safely, Hill said.
“There are no clear walkways. When you have a wide roadway, people drive at a faster speed,” Hill said. “People complain about bump-outs and reducing lanes, but it makes it safer where people are walking, and it’s better for businesses.”
Police spokesperson Julie Humphreys said there doesn’t seem to be one area in the city with a high concentration of crashes, but since Division is a high-traffic area, “it sees a good share of collisions.” But so do other frequently traveled roads.
In September last year, two pedestrians were hit near Maple Street and Fourth Avenue. One woman died and a man was taken to the hospital with critical injuries. Just two months later, another pedestrian was hit in the same area and transported to the hospital with severe injuries, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review.
The intersection of Maple Street and Fourth Avenue only has three marked crosswalks, and pedestrians are unable to walk across West Fourth Avenue toward a convenience store on the corner.
Lowe said he was nearly hit by a truck at that intersection while he was shooting video.
“They’re funneling traffic off the freeway there, which is why there isn’t a crosswalk, which is fine. But then people are getting hit elsewhere.”
The city expanded lanes in that intersection to create two right-turn lanes. This helps traffic onto the highway, Lowe said – but just 100 feet west, there is a single lane, so drivers may be looking for other cars when merging rather than looking for pedestrians.
“You can’t right-turn on red there, but people do it anyway. Pedestrians have to cross in front of the on-ramp there, too. The whole area is wildly dangerous,” Lowe said.
Among the concerns is students walking to school. Hill said her kids would walk to Mead High School, and only recently did a crosswalk appear on Hastings Road. The road has four lanes in total, and cars have to be looking for those students to stop. It’s harder if those cars are speeding, Hill said.
“People speed because you have two big wide lanes there. When you have those, people will drive faster,” she said. “Some roads are not safe for our children. On Nevada or Francis, you have to have parents out there with reflector vests to try to get people to slow down so children can safely walk to school.”
Hill said what aggravates the problem is drivers looking at their phones, and she said that Spokane is notorious for people running red lights. People also try to cram more in a day – meaning they want to take less time to get somewhere, and that can hurt pedestrians trying to get where they need to go.
The solutions for better traffic safety come in many forms. Hill said the Hillyard neighborhood has grown to be a good example of safer traffic. There are wide sidewalks in downtown Hillyard on Market Street, bump-outs that cause drivers to slow down when turning corners, light posts and designated parking spots.
“It is safer and better for businesses,” Hill said.
To improve safety, police must write tickets, pedestrians need to wear bright clothing, and the city needs better infrastructure and funding to build bump-outs, roundabouts and crosswalks. Not everyone appreciates those things, she said, especially with roundabouts, which boost safety. There was a huge push against roundabouts when they became more frequent, but they are much safer, she said.
“The hardest thing in traffic safety is to change behavior,” Hill said.
The Spokane Police Department pulled back some of its traffic patrol in 2022, Humphreys said, but a dedicated traffic unit “can certainly contribute to fewer collisions.”
“In recent years, we have seen more drivers on the roads and more poor driving behavior – speeding, distracted and impaired driving, and cutting in and out of traffic lanes. Every driver is responsible for helping to keep our roadways safe by practicing safe driving,” she said.
Spokane police’s traffic Sgt. Teresa Fuller said the department is working to get a traffic safety unit back together, even though staffing is low. Officers receive overtime pay from the state’s traffic safety commission to focus on areas of need within the city, but to Fuller, “to have a dedicated unit again would be beneficial.”
While working on the unit, Fuller asks those waiting for more change to be patient and be as safe as possible. And, she said, it’s important for pedestrians to know the law. Normally, pedestrians have the right-of-way, but not in certain circ*mstances.
“Sometimes they think the crosswalk provides this halo of protection. They still have to wait for a break in traffic. People hit the button and start to cross the street. They still have the responsibility to step off the curb safely,” Fuller said.
But drivers must know the speed limits, too, she said. Especially on arterials, where there are fewer places to safely cross and people tend to speed.
The speed is a critical factor, Fuller said. Even going 5 miles an hour over the limit can mean life or death for a pedestrian.
Lowe believes it’s not enough to “ask nicely” to see changes.
“We need to build an environment safer for those outside the car. When you do that, it also makes those inside the car safer,” he said. “I want to have an environment that makes people feel safe. People deserve to feel safe.”
