A vehicle passes a memorial for Enrique Sutphin, a passenger killed in a car crash in 2020 along Highway 30 in Knappa.

The Sunset Empire Transportation District has joined calls to improve safety at an intersection on U.S. Highway 30 in Knappa where a pedestrian was recently killed while attempting to cross.

At a meeting on Friday, the transit district’s board unanimously supported sending a letter to the Oregon Department of Transportation, citing concerns from bus drivers and riders and recommending a lower speed limit and other changes.

In November, 25-year-old Hannah Olson was struck and killed by a vehicle traveling eastbound as she tried to cross the highway at the intersection with Old Highway 30 near milepost 82 at about 6:30 p.m.

Several residents have claimed that the intersection, which has a 50 mph speed limit and yellow flashing lights, has long been unsafe for pedestrians.

The community has houses, restaurants, a fire station and several other facilities on both sides of the highway, resulting in frequent foot traffic. At the time of her death, Olson was believed to have been heading from The Logger, a restaurant on the north side of the highway, to Knappa Pizza and Bar, a restaurant on the south side.

Following Olson’s death, many have reached out to the Department of Transportation, calling for a number of potential changes to infrastructure. Among the requests are a lower speed limit, improved lighting, a flashing pedestrian crossing, a stoplight and an overhead bridge.

The Lower Columbia Connector, the transit district’s route that serves riders from Astoria to Portland three times a day, has a stop just off the highway near Knappa Pizza and Bar. But with no bus stop on the north side of the intersection, some riders are forced to cross the highway on foot.

“Our bus drivers are very challenged with trying to get back on the highway, especially on the westbound run with traffic traveling on the highway in both directions,” the letter from the board said. “Our riders that board our bus describe the challenge of crossing the highway in order to access the bus stop and the fear they have of the high speed of vehicles.”

Signed by Debbie Boothe-Schmidt, the board chairwoman, the letter called the 50 mph speed limit too high and recommended a reduction to 40 mph, similar to Westport to the east .

“Surely, the reduction of speed in this area will add only a few seconds to vehicles traveling along this stretch of the highway,” the letter said.

The letter also supported the idea of a pedestrian crosswalk with rapid flashing lights.

“Pedestrian safety at this intersection must be improved,” the letter concluded.

Jeff Hazen, the executive director of the transit district, said the intersection has been a concern for a while.

“We started running that whole route to Portland a few years ago and anybody that is on the north side of the highway, they have to scramble across there trying to avoid 50 mph traffic,” he said after the meeting. “Riders have expressed concerns, but I think there are riders out there that won’t take the bus if they have to cross the highway. And there is no good place on the north side for us to have a stop that is off the highway.”

During Friday’s meeting, board members were skeptical that bigger, more expensive changes, such as adding a stoplight, would happen at the intersection.

“I think it is a good thing to ask for what we think is needed. Will there be immediate results? No … (The progress) is very incremental in how they develop that and I think that’s the nature of ODOT,” Rebecca Read, a board member, said. “But this is the squeaky wheel and I’m really appreciative that this has been written and at least it’s bringing it up.”

Bill Jablonski, the area manager for the Department of Transportation on the North Coast, has cautioned that fixes are not always easily implemented due to challenges with funding and compliance.

Read added that the board should encourage partnering agencies to submit testimony recommending changes at the intersection.

In response to the collision involving Olson, Clatsop County set up a speed feedback board — which flashes blue and red lights for drivers exceeding 50 mph — for eastbound drivers approaching the intersection.

Jablonski said in an email that larger speed limit signs and a yellow flasher on the intersection sign for westbound drivers were recently installed.

Jablonski also said that the state is still working on a speed reduction analysis and is looking into installing additional lighting at the intersection.