On a short stretch of residential streets just north of downtown Puyallup, neighbors say they have had it with wrecks at their doorsteps and are pushing the city for quick, concrete safety fixes. The tipping point came in October, when a Puyallup High School cross‑country runner was seriously injured in a collision while out training. That crash, residents say, turned long‑simmering frustration into an organized push for change. Homeowner Greg McGough says he went door to door, collected signatures and handed a petition to city officials asking for speed bumps, new stop signs or a roundabout.
WSDOT crash records obtained by The News Tribune show 93 collisions over the past decade on Seventh, Fifth, Fourth, Third and Second avenues between East Main and Fourth Avenue Northeast. Sixty‑eight of those wrecks are listed as having “no apparent injury,” but the tally still covers the exact corridor neighbors have been flagging as a problem.
On Oct. 6, a Puyallup High School cross‑country runner was struck while training in the 600 block of Second Avenue Northeast at Seventh Street Northeast. The athlete was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, witnesses told KIRO 7. Jessica Orth, who saw the collision, told the station, “It looked like he put his hand up to the truck,” and said the coach gave immediate aid before medics arrived…