Traffic complaint? You can send it straight to sergeants in this Pierce Co. city

Drivers zooming by at twice the speed limit, vehicles clogging a cul-de-sac and a roadway striping issue are among the concerns the city of Gig Harbor has received in the two weeks after it launched an online form for traffic-related complaints.

“There is a significant speeding problem on eastbound Rosedale, particularly as vehicles crest the hill en route to Stinson Avenue and access to SR-16,” one complaint said. “Drivers frequently exceed the posted speed limit: some appearing to travel at double the legal speed, creating a serious safety hazard.”

People trying to turn onto Rosedale Street Northwest from a nearby residential street are at risk, it continued. “Without intervention, the risk of a severe accident remains high.”

Interim Police Chief Tray Federici told The News Tribune that the city had been getting traffic complaints through various avenues before: Social media, email, and residents who came up to city staff in public or inside the city building. Public works staff could be out “moving cones or shifting around signage on a street” and have people approach them with a complaint, he said.

The complaints came in on a daily basis, he told The News Tribune. He said that happens across Pierce County, not just in Gig Harbor.

The city decided it was time to make the process a little easier.

Through an online form on the city’s website that launched July 9, residents can now submit their non-emergency traffic-related complaints directly to the city with a few clicks. Concerns could be “speeding, abandoned vehicle, parking issue, running stop signs or red lights, and other traffic-related complaints which the person submitting the form must specify,” a city news release said.

In its first seven days, the form received 11 complaints, according to Federici. He said he considered 10 of those legitimate, and one looked like a prank. By July 25, the total had reached 17, The News Tribune learned from Federici on Friday.

While Federici said it’s not a replacement for direct traffic enforcement, the form is an attempt to streamline the reporting process for traffic-related complaints in a city where many residents believe speeding and reckless driving is on the rise.

How is the form working so far?

Federici said that the complaints submitted in the first seven days of the form have revolved around speeding, stop signs and “a light handful of parking issues.” One of these issues was a roadway striping-related concern that police passed to the city’s Public Works Department, he said.

One complaint said that residents were seeing higher traffic speeds due to increasing development on Peacock Hill, and requested “some targeted enforcement in that area,” Federici said.

Police will follow up with those who request contact via email or phone number to thank them for sharing their concerns and let them know that the complaint has been assigned out to a patrol officer. Most so far have requested email contact if they’ve requested it at all, according to Federici.

When a person submits the form, all of the police patrol sergeants “get an immediate alert,” he said on July 16. “One came in right now as I’m the phone with you discussing this.”

He said Friday that “sergeants or officers have followed up with all complainants who requested contact.”

Residents can also let police know about a concern without requesting that police contact them about the situation. In one complaint, a resident said that in a residential cul-de-sac, multiple vehicles were parking there and could potentially block emergency vehicle access, Federici said.

“This specific person did not require law enforcement contact,” he said. “They’re just bringing it to our attention and saying you might want to take a look at this.”

Federici emphasized that the new traffic complaint form is not meant to replace police traffic enforcement.

“This is not placing the onus of traffic enforcement on any citizen or any one person traveling through the community,” he said. “Our officers are continually out there doing proactive patrols and traffic enforcement as usual. This is just another tool the community can use that creates a funnel effect on how these complaints are received, instead of really sporadically or spread out across multiple mechanisms.”

Is speeding up in Gig Harbor?

Out of 457 respondents to a city survey via FlashVote last August, 31% said they believed there was “much more speeding/reckless driving now” than a few years ago in Gig Harbor. Another 26% said they believed there was “a little more speeding/reckless driving now” than a few years ago, and another 28% said they thought it was “about the same.”

Out of 272 respondents who had an address in the community, 32% believed there was “much more” speeding or reckless driving, and 28% believed there was “a little more.”

The city has a population of about 12,200, according to 2023 census data.

The survey also asked for other comments or suggestions about traffic safety in the city.

“I am retired and walk a lot in Gig Harbor,” one comment said in part. “Traffic has significantly increased in the last 10 years in Gig Harbor and needs to be better managed through a variety of methods including some better education for both drivers and bicyclists on how to go through traffic roundabouts.”

“It is difficult to stay within the speed limit when driving down Soundview and requires focus to do so,” another comment said. “Consideration should be given to adding ‘Traffic calming’ additions and collocating crosswalks at bus and school bus stops to make it more of a neighborhood connector than a commuter route.”

Some commenters believed that speeding in Gig Harbor is overstated. Others identified specific roads or streets where they observed concerning patterns. Some offered suggestions for traffic enforcement or opinions on roadway design and infrastructure.

Federici named several areas that police know to be a concern for traffic and speeding in Gig Harbor.

“We do get a significant amount of traffic complaints on Soundview Drive,” Federici said. “That is one of our hotspots. North Harborview is another one. Stinson coming down the hill. We have a couple officers that work that area pretty intensely.”

Officers have issued 14.2% more traffic tickets this year so far than all of last year, Federici told The News Tribune on July 16. Meanwhile, police have given 751 verbal traffic-related warnings this year so far, compared to 1,338 in all of 2024. Federici said that could show a “slight decrease” in verbal warnings while formal traffic enforcement is up this year.

He didn’t see that change as concerning, saying that officers work to balance education (verbal warnings) with enforcement (traffic tickets).

“I don’t see anything in the numbers that worries me or leads me to believe that our traffic enforcement isn’t being dealt with accordingly,” he said.

But he said that the online form, besides funneling traffic complaints to the city, “builds bridges between our patrol supervisors and the community” and “also holds our sergeants accountable to oversee their squads and ensure complaints aren’t overlooked, which they aren’t.”

He also said police will likely refine the program to better fit the needs of the community as they see how it works. One idea is to give sergeants the ability to directly log in to the online program and input notes saying how officers responded. That would show which sergeant responded and whether an officer issued verbal warnings or traffic citations, for instance. That’s still a theoretical build-out, and police will “take it one day at a time” with the program, Federici said.

This story was originally published July 28, 2025 at 10:39 AM.