Recently, on the afternoon of Oct. 15, a driver crossed the center line and collided head on with an oncoming truck on the SR 522 bend between 61st Street Northeast and Ballinger Way. He suffered life-threatening injuries after rolling his vehicle.

I commute to and from Kenmore on SR 522 five times a week. As I’m sure other commuters would agree, there seem to be numerous times when traffic is backed up due to a serious or fatal accident. But I’m not writing as a disgruntled commuter who’s occasionally late getting home from work. I’m writing as a concerned citizen, father, and husband who doesn’t believe SR 522 is nearly as safe as it needs to be.

I know major, lengthy construction is currently underway alongside SR 522 on 61st Street Northeast, one of the reasons being to put in much needed sidewalks. But I also think simpler, quicker, and less costly improvements should be considered.

I also know it’s easy to criticize problems and much harder to think of viable solutions, but I’ll try nonetheless: Install precast concrete barriers in the center of the SR 522 curve between 61st Street Northeast and Ballinger Way. Wouldn’t this be a cheap, quick, and effective measure to prevent high speed collisions?

I applaud Kenmore government for the traffic and pedestrian safety improvements that are being funded now and have been put in place recently. I think the current construction will make one of Kenmore’s busiest intersections a safer place, and last year’s speed limit reduction on SR 522 was a giant step forward. But I also hope we continue to act, especially for minor improvements that can have a major preventative impact.