Residents turn up the heat in bid for fix at dangerous Deming intersection
Everyone seems to agree that an intersection on the Mount Baker Highway through Deming needs safety measures — better lighting, a lower speed limit, signal lights or a roundabout.
Getting it done is causing frustration, and state legislators are being asked to step in.
Mount Baker Highway at Mitchell Road is where drivers headed to Mount Baker High School from Maple Falls or Acme make an often-dangerous left turn as traffic whizzes past at 45 mph or faster. Residents recently pleaded with Whatcom County Council members to find a way to make the intersection safer.
Mount Baker sophomore Kourtney Cadle died there in 2010, a horrific crash that happened when she was rear-ended while waiting to make that turn and was pushed into the path of an oncoming semi.
Victoria Anderson of Maple Falls recently started a Change.org petition after she got “the phone call that every parent dreads” when her daughter, a sophomore at Mount Baker High, was in a crash with another student last November.
“She couldn’t even speak through her fear, adrenaline and shock. I have never been so grateful to hear my child cry in my entire life, because a cry means they are alive,” Anderson told Whatcom County Council members Nov. 18.
Her petition had more than 800 signatures as of Dec. 16, with a goal of 1,000.
Since 2015 there have been 10 crashes at or near the intersection, most of them resulting in minor injuries, according to data from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The speed limit is 45 mph and the road averaged 8,400 cars and trucks daily, WSDOT’s Josh Shippy told The Bellingham Herald.
Officials at the Whatcom County Public Works Department have been asked to find a solution, but WSDOT has jurisdiction, spokeswoman Mandy Feutz told The Herald in an email. That’s because Mount Baker Highway is officially State Route 542.
“We recognize the community’s concerns and will continue coordinating with WSDOT on matters related to this corridor,” Feutz said.
Whatcom County Council members are asking the area’s state legislators to press for a fix from Olympia. Council members are responding to recent pleas from area residents who say they fear for young drivers and others near the school.
“Mitchell Road is the primary access point to Mount Baker High School, Mount Baker Junior High, district athletic fields and the Mount Baker Cooperative Preschool,” according to a letter that the council sent Tuesday. “Every day, young drivers, school buses, families and staff must turn across fast-moving traffic with limited gaps. The pattern of crashes at this location shows that current conditions are not sufficient to protect students and other road users.”
Meanwhile, WSDOT’s R.B. McKeon said the state is working with the nearby Nooksack Tribe regarding “their desire for improvements and continue to partner with them on a roundabout project in this general vicinity. Once constructed, WSDOT will conduct a speed study along this corridor and based on the findings of that research, evaluate whether or not lowering the speed limit is warranted.”
McKeon told The Herald that WSDOT is evaluating requests for more lighting and a school zone.
“We acknowledge that parents and constituents may feel differently with the evaluation outcome, but it is important to remember that engineering solutions can have other unintended consequences, which is why we take the time to fully evaluate and understand before providing final recommendations. Engineering solutions along with enforcement of the rules of the road and good driver behavior all help us achieve our Target Zero goals,” McKeon said in an email.
