Parents want changes to road outside Bothell school 'for safety of our children'

BOTHELL, Wash. -- Heather Miller was attempting to walk her two little girls to Crystal Springs Elementary in Bothell.

"Before we stepped out on the sidewalk, I could hear something barreling down the road," said Miller. "It turned out it was a tow truck and totally oblivious."

Miller said she pulled her girls back as the driver slammed on his brakes, nearly hitting the crossing guard.

"People just don’t pay any attention. They drive way too fast."

Parents who live across from the school on 9th Avenue are fed up with the drivers who speed along that stretch, calling it a tragedy waiting to happen.

"We’ve actually had two close calls where our kids were almost hit," said Carol Hamlin. "It’s just not worth it for us to continue to do this."

Neighbors believe drivers speed through 9th to avoid the congestion on the Bothell-Everett Highway.

"They don’t live here, and they’re just trying to get around that traffic bottleneck on Bothell-Everett Highway," said Sean Hamlin.

The parents want changes, including speed bumps, flashing lights at the crosswalk, and a lower speed limit.

"The safety of our kids is very important," said Jamal Mahmoud,  Bothell's traffic engineer, who is making the changes on 9th a priority. But Mahmoud admits they come with a cost, and there's no guarantee there will be money to pay for them.

"Flashers on the crosswalk would probably cost $100,000. It is not like a couple hundred dollars, so we have to have this money, and we have to budget for it."

Parents are taking their own action. They've collected more than 100 signatures on a petition asking for the safety changes near Crystal Springs, and will soon present it to the city's mayor and council.

"It’s not even really a request," said Miller. "We really need this here for the safety of our children."