Members of the Quartermaster Yacht Club (QYC) are calling on King County to install a crosswalk on Vashon Highway by the stairs to their Burton-area marina, highlighting safety risks for older members and children who frequently cross the busy road, particularly during the summer sailing camp season.

But county officials say the location does not meet their requirements for a marked crosswalk, and warn that installing one could raise unexpected safety and compliance issues.

The dispute has led some anonymous individuals to paint their own unauthorized crosswalk on the road, where some of the club’s nearly 200 members regularly park before hiking down the steps to the recreational boating facility.

“They [the county] want a fatality before they do anything,” said Tim Chiswell, a rear commodore (an officer position) of QYC and a volunteer firefighter in Pierce County.

Chiswell has pushed the county for a crosswalk for nearly a year, after experiencing several close calls at the area. Vehicles frequently travel between 55 and 65 mph in the 25-mph zone, he said, and the location — atop a hill with limited visibility in both directions — coupled with the presence of older members and hundreds of children attending summer sailing programs, raises serious safety concerns.

But King County requires consistent, year-round pedestrian demand to justify installing a crosswalk, said Broch Bender, Road Services Public Information Officer, and county officials say that according to their road research, the location doesn’t meet the criteria for a marked crosswalk.

The county conducted a one-week study in December using a speed trailer and recorded an average speed of 35 mph — 10 mph over the legal limit.

What’s more, marked crosswalks can create a false sense of security for pedestrians and lead to driver complacency, Bender and other county officials said, potentially exacerbating safety issues.

“Nationwide, there are more collisions in marked crosswalks than in unmarked crosswalks,” said Keith Brown, County Traffic Operations Supervisor. “There is some complacency by pedestrians … because they feel that they have protection that paint and signs give them that it really doesn’t.”

Brown referenced a 2005 Federal Highway Administration study that found that on high-traffic multi-lane roads, marked crosswalks without added safety measures had higher pedestrian crash rates than unmarked crossings.

Bender said that because pedestrian activity at the site is limited to specific times of the year, an infrequently used crosswalk could create a compliance issue: “If you have a crosswalk in an area that is not well-used, people will ignore the crosswalk,” Bender said.

However, QYC members say the clubhouse is actively used year-round for activities such as book clubs, music jam sessions, and routine visits to check on boats, all of which mean members are crossing the highway regularly.

The club has offered to pay for the crosswalk, but the county insists the issue is about compliance and safety, not finances, according to Bender.

Temporary solutions proposed by the county, such as sandwich board signs or child alert devices during high-traffic periods, have been dismissed by club members as inadequate. The club already uses similar signs on its property during summer sailing sessions, placing them off the roadway and removing them when pedestrian activity decreases.

Frustrated by the county’s response, anonymous individuals hand-painted an unauthorized crosswalk in October. The club didn’t give the crosswalk-painters permission to do so, but “we decided to leave it alone and let the county deal with it however they see fit,” said QYC Commodore Troy Kindred.

“Every time that I have walked up to cross the road and I stand there by those white painted lines, cars stop and let me cross the road,” Kindred said. “Cars never stopped before. I feel much, much safer now.”

There are existing pedestrian warning signs a quarter-mile away on the road on either side of the club. These signs alert northbound and southbound drivers on Vashon Highway but are not specific to a crosswalk.

John Korhumel, a Seattle and Vashon resident and QYC member, supports efforts to improve crossing safety at that part of the road.

“I don’t see why it should be much of a hassle … to put up some sort of a visual so cars are alerted that they need to be careful,” Korhumel said. “A lot of people park over there, (and) a lot of them are older.”

Chiswell believes the county is “making their decisions in an office rather than being out in reality.” The painted crosswalk, though unauthorized, has dramatically changed driver behavior, according to Chiswell, Kindred and QYC member Tom Bradrick.

Bradrick said the county is digging its feet in rather than consider the club members’ complaints.

“People stop for me all the time now — the change has been drastic,” Bradrick said. “Our illegal crosswalk has been extremely effective.”

Elaine Ott-Rocheford, executive director of the Vashon Park District, expressed support for the club’s advocacy for a crosswalk — noting that while she has not personally witnessed their safety concerns, she supports the installation of a crosswalk, provided it is done legally.

“I think that there is some real validity to the need for a crosswalk,” Ott-Rocheford said. “It’s not just for the sailing camp kids, it’s also for the members of the yacht club, and many of them are older … and I see people going through there very fast.”

Bender said that low pedestrian traffic at this location makes a crosswalk unsafe, as data suggests drivers would likely ignore it over time.

The county plans to remove the painted crosswalk with a hydro-blasting machine next week, Bender said.

“We are responsible for stewarding the public roads,” Bender said. “This was not done by our crew or by the county … it’s not legal, it’s a distraction for drivers and we need to remove it.”

Aspen Anderson is a contributing journalist to The Beachcomber.

A motorist drives up Vashon Highway, where an unauthorized crosswalk was created next to the Quartermaster Yacht Club. (Alex Bruell photo)

Boats are moored at the Quartermaster Yacht Club, which is nestled inside a small cove protected to the east by the Burton peninsula. (Alex Bruell photo)