I am writing this letter to gather support for a four-way stop at S.E. 34th and 78th Avenue S.E. This intersection is at the entrance to our neighborhood and is used by hundreds of cars every day that travel north and south and also use the Mercer Island Thrift store. We have many elderly people who come down from upper Mercerdale and have difficulty crossing this intersection, even with crossing flags. It is extremely difficult for southbound traffic to see the intersection until they are almost on top of it. The northbound traffic often travels at speeds up to 40 mph by the time they reach this crossing. My 5-year-old son and I use this intersection on weekends to navigate the downtown business district on bicycles and we have almost been struck there a number of times, even waving the flags. For those of us who live in the neighborhood and use this intersection many times a day, it becomes difficult leaving the neighborhood going east on 34th trying to go northbound on 78th Avenue S.E. By the time we have pulled out northbound, the southbound cars are right upon us, as there is a blind spot southbound on 78th. My biggest fear is having someone struck in the crosswalk or a major accident involving two motor vehicles. Our goal is to make this intersection safer for everyone. Having a four-way stop here would help slow down traffic northbound before it reaches the central business district at S.E. 32nd Street. It would also help slow traffic from speeding up southbound from S.E. 32nd to S.E. 40th Street. I thank you for the opportunity to address this issue. I am also supported on this issue by dozens of the families that live in upper and lower Mercerdale that share my concerns and have recently mobilized a community effort to effectively make a change. We want to make Mercer Island a safer place to live.

John R. Bourdeau