Some residents cried while addressing the Kenmore City Council on Monday night. About 12 Kenmore neighbors gathered during the regularly scheduled city council meeting to ask their elected officials to take action after Joseph David Humphreys was hit and killed in their neighborhood on Oct. 22.

“We gathered after the meeting and we really could not leave because we were overwhelmed at the lack of acknowledgement and action that they will take,” said Kenmore resident Stephanie Krambrink.

Kenmore Mayor David Baker said that the council shares the neighbors’ concerns.

“There is a prescribed procedure that we have to go through to do these things,” said Baker. “I am seriously just as frustrated at how long it takes to do something but it takes time. The council is very worried about safety. This is why we have a concrete plan for sidewalks.”

One of the biggest issues for candidates during this election season for Kenmore City Council has been the length of the 20-year plan that the city has adopted. Baker points out that the plan is to secure sidewalks around schools first so that children, who walk along the streets the most, are safe.

The citizens who spoke at the meeting during the public comment portion were emotional when talking about Humphrey’s death and the safety of their loved ones as they asked for speed bumps, signage, reflectors and other speed mitigation items for the street.

“We know sidewalks are expensive,” said Krambrink. “But this has been a concern for years. I want to know, is this process or law? Because if it is law it needs to be revisited.”

For Krambrink, much of the meeting was about frustration.

“We weren’t told about a process a year ago when we brought this up,” said Krambrink. “If we would have something might be in place right now.”

Krambrink claims that the street has become busier since a light was installed at the intersection of Remington Drive and 61st Avenue Northeast a few months ago. She claims that drivers have begun to used 62nd Avenue Northeast as a shortcut, driving fast on a road that has little room for error.

Neighbors are also worried about their kids who stand on the side of the road to wait for school buses. One of the neighbors invited council members out to the site where Humphreys was killed and to walk the road.

Krambrink said that Baker accepted the invitation and plans to meet with the neighbors Friday morning to discuss the issue further.