Thurston County enacts lower speed limits on 8 high-concern roads 

Speed limits on eight Thurston County roads were adjusted through a new ordinance that revised the official traffic schedule. 

The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) adopted the changes after a public hearing on Aug. 19, which featured residents sounding off on fatal crashes, unsafe passing and violations at school bus stops on rural corridors. 

The action covered Albany Street SW, two segments of Littlerock Road SW, Case Extension Road SW, Pleasant Glade Road NE, Sleater Kinney Road NE, 56th Avenue NE and Wilkensen Road SE. 

The new ordinance lowered several rural corridors to 25, 30, 35 or 40 miles per hour (mph), brought posted field signs into legal alignment, and removed stretches annexed into Lacey and Yelm. 

Traffic Engineer and Operations Manager Becky Conn said the revisions were based on engineering studies that measured vehicle volumes, classifications and speeds with tube counters. Staff also reviewed five years of crash records and examined roadway conditions, such as shoulders, side slopes and driveway density. 

She said the county follows the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 46.61.415 and county code 12.105, which sets unlisted rural road speed limits at 50 mph. 

“We look at the 85th percentile speed, which is the speed that 85 out of 100 people are traveling at or below. … We also look at the 10-mph pace speed … and this resolution allows for engineering judgment if we do feel we need to go outside of those ranges,” Conn said. 

Conn said the process begins when requests come through the Thurston County Public Works Department or Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Informal outreach is conducted with mailers, and Public Works also compiled supporting data before presenting recommendations to the board. 

Albany Street 

Albany Street SW, from U.S. 12 to Littlerock Road SW in Rochester, was corrected from an unposted 50 mph to 30 mph. 

Public Works recorded 2,331 vehicles a day on the corridor, including 2% trucks, with an 85th percentile speed of 34 mph. 

No crash count was cited in the county’s report; no written public comments were filed. 

Littlerock Road 

The second Littlerock segment, from 133rd Avenue SW to 128th Avenue SW near Littlerock Elementary, was changed from 50 to 30. 

Counts reached 3,668 vehicles a day, 11% trucks, with an 85th percentile of 37. Three crashes were documented and two positive written comments supported the correction, according to Conn. 

Testimony during the hearing recounted serious incidents along the corridor. 

Resident Barb Lemke said there have been seven fatal accidents since November 2024 

“People are afraid to go out their driveway, because people do not do 50. They do 90. The cars go by so fast that you can't even see what kind of car that it was,” she said. 

Lemke described a 16-year-old crashing into a tree in front of her house, a driver blowing past a stopped school bus and a child from a nearby facility wandering into traffic. 

“If we hadn’t been home, that day would have ended very differently,” she said. 

Resident Jeff Merriman pressed for a nearby 40 mph zone to be lowered. 

“Humans are creatures of habit … when they found out they couldn’t have the sign up, they took the sign down, did a speed study, and guess what, 85% of the people drive within that range. It just goes to show their data is manipulated, and it's quite concerning,” he shared. 

He also argued a 35-mph posting could support local businesses and access to state funds. 

Case Extension 

Case Extension Road SW, from 113th Avenue SW to its dead end, was cut from 40 mph to 25 mph. 

Public Works noted there are 76 vehicles a day on the road, with no truck traffic, an 85th percentile speed of 31 mph. One crash was reported in five years, and two positive comments supported the reduction. 

Resident Christian MacLauchlan said the 40-mph limit made a difference. 

“Once it got posted to 40 it completely changed the game, which ultimately (resulted) in my daughter’s dog getting hit one night,” he said.

MacLauchlan urged alignment with surrounding community roads. 

Pleasant Glade 

Pleasant Glade Road NE, from Abernethy Road NE to the Lacey city limits, was lowered from 50 to 25. 

According to Conn, the corridor carried 139 vehicles a day, including 11% trucks, with an 85th percentile speed of 33 mph. One crash was reported in five years, with six positive written comments supporting the change and one opposing it.  

Resident Danielle Bearing said children were at risk on the narrow corridor. 

“People are not slowing down, even when they see kids ... and we try to wave them down just to get their attention. They're purposely going as fast as they can to get to their destination,” she said. 

She urged the county to consider speed bumps in addition to lowering the speed limit. 

Sleater Kinney 

Sleater Kinney Road NE, from South Bay Road NE to 56th Avenue NE, was reduced from 50 mph to 40. 

Conn reported 1,665 vehicles per day on the corridor, 3% trucks, an 85th percentile of 53 mph. Over five years, nine crashes were logged. Seven positive and three negative written comments were received. 

Conn said the road’s narrow width, steep side slopes, numerous driveways and bicycle activity justified lowering the limit below the pace range. The change also made the corridor consistent with the 40-mph posting south of South Bay Road. 

Public testimony revealed both support and opposition. 

Resident Joan Marshall said unsafe passing was a regular problem on Sleater Kinney Road and  she has often had to slow down before entering her driveway to avoid being struck. She noted the road serves many new families and school buses, yet drivers continue to pass unsafely. 

Resident Jennifer Thompson said living on Sleater Kinney Road meant facing vehicles traveling 60 mph as she checked her mailbox, with trucks, deer, dogs, school buses and bicycles all sharing the corridor. 

She said there is no way to walk or pull over safely, and tdrivers often honk when she slows to enter her driveway. She urged the BOCC to lower the posting to 40 mph, adding even if it did not stop speeding, it would at least match the limit south of South Bay Road. 

However, Greg Walker, a retired traffic engineer, said lowering Sleater Kinney Road’s limit from 50 mph to 40 mph would not slow drivers and would instead “just create more law breakers.” 

He said people routinely travel over 50 on the rural corridor, enforcement is absent and there are no physical devices to curb speed. 

Resident Craig Smith then questioned whether conditions had changed enough to justify reductions, and resident Victoria Greenwood suggested more sheriff patrols instead of lower limits. 

56th Avenue 

The adjoining 56th Avenue NE, from Shincke Road NE to Sleater Kinney Road NE, was also reduced from 50 mph to 40 mph. 

Public Works listed 1,022 vehicles a day, 3% trucks, with an 85th percentile speed of 49 mph. Two crashes were reported in five years; no written comments were submitted. 

Wilkensen Road 

Wilkensen Road SE, from Yelm city limits to Ordway Drive SE, was set at 35 mph. 

The corridor carried 5,868 vehicles a day, including 3% trucks, with an 85th percentile speed of 41 mph. Nine crashes were recorded in five years, with one positive and one neutral written comment filed.

Conn said the change closed a posting gap flagged by the sheriff’s office, since adjoining Yelm and Ordway segments were already posted at 35. 

BOCC Chair Tye Menser asked Conn about physical traffic calming, such as speed bumps. She explained that speed humps are limited to 25-mph residential roads under the county’s program. 

“If anyone is interested in the program, they’re welcome to contact Public Works,” she said.

Menser cited Griffin School as an example where neighbors petitioned for and received speed humps. 

The BOCC voted unanimously to approve the revisions, administrative corrections and annexation updates. 

Conn said Public Works will install new signs and coordinate with the sheriff’s office for enforcement. 

The newly adopted ordinance also removed road sections annexed into Lacey and Yelm, corrected reference points, and fixed typographical errors in the county’s schedule.