Redmond’s Burns creates petition calling for better safety measures at town center

Published 9:50 am Thursday, August 13, 2015

Lily Burns describes herself as a typically reserved person, but admits that when it comes to her children, she will do whatever she needs to stand up for them and support them.

It was because of this fierceness to protect her two children — who are grown now — that she was so affected when a 2-year-old girl was struck and killed by a car on July 1 at Redmond Town Center (RTC). The girl had run out from the curb near the town center’s playground and into the road, where a 25-year-old male driver was already slowing down as he approached the intersection of Northeast 74th Street and 164th Avenue Northeast.

“It was kind of waiting to happen,” Burns said, explaining that there is no fencing or any type of barrier between the town center playground and the road except for a fence directly surrounding the play area.

A PETITION FOR CHANGE

Last month’s incident left such an impression on Burns, who lives in downtown Redmond, that she has started a petition on Change.org. The petition calls for RTC to make some changes to ensure the safety of the children at the playground. At the Reporter‘s press time, 297 people had signed the petition.

Burns has also started a Facebook group called Do Something Redmond. Currently the group is focused on the petition, but she said its purpose is to provide a space for people to share their concerns about safety and other issues in the rapidly growing community.

Burns said the incident happened on the evening of July 1 and by 9 a.m. on July 2, things were back to normal and there was no sign or evidence of the incident except for a couple of flower bouquets people had placed at the site. She felt this was disgraceful and disrespectful to the girl and her family. The petition is Burns’ way to honor the girl.

“I’ve just really taken this to heart,” she said.

She also wants to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.

Burns has contacted the president of JSH Properties, Inc., the company that owns RTC, to see what is being done to address the issue. She said the response she received last week was that the company is in the process of putting in additional “Slow down” signage, fencing and a gate in the area. But when she drove through the town center Tuesday morning, Burns said she saw no indication of this.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Courtney Klein, who has been the town center’s property manager since 2013, said they are currently working with a safety expert to install additional barriers at the entrance of the Sensory Garden play area as well as a fence by the landscaping.

“That work will be completed next month,” she said.

Klein said since July 1, they have received a few emails from people who are concerned about safety at the town center.

“We have had many conversations with businesses within the Redmond Town Center community over this tragic loss,” she added. “As a whole, the response has been a shared grieving and inquiries on how to support those involved.”

Klein said they have also received emails from those asking what they can do for the girl’s family. She said many RTC businesses have made donations to the Safe Crossing Foundation, a Seattle-based organization that helps children heal and cope with grief.

In addition to JSH, Burns said she also contacted the City of Redmond but was told that because the town center is private property, the city cannot do anything about the issue.

Becky Range, public information for the Redmond Police Department, said they cannot comment on the issue at the current time.

POSSIBLE OPTIONS

Through her petition, Burns is proposing a portion of the streets approaching the intersection where the playground is located — Northeast 74th Street and 164th Avenue Northeast — be closed to traffic and become pedestrian-only zones (above). Northeast 74th Street on the east side of the intersection is already closed to vehicle traffic and Burns’ proposal would just extend the closure.

“It is preventable if you simply take the cars away from the children,” she said about another incident in the future.

In response to this suggestion, Klein said there are no plans to extend the pedestrian-only area at this time.

“We need to adhere to city codes for traffic requirements and emergency access for the hotels and office buildings,” she explained.

While this may not be an option RTC officials are looking at, Klein said they are looking at others.

“Internally we are looking at all possibilities and we certainly appreciate everyone’s ideas, including the idea of a security guard (to watch for children who may stray from the play area and/or their caretakers),” she said.