Plan to permanently close downtown Puyallup street has neighbors worried
A temporary, controversial road closure in Puyallup may soon become permanent.
During its Nov. 18 meeting, the Puyallup City Council heard a presentation from the Puyallup School District about the closure of Seventh Street Northwest between Third Avenue Northwest and West Main. In the presentation, PSD argued that the temporary closure – which started in September 2024 – should become permanent, with some changes.
Brian Devereux, the director of facilities planning for the Puyallup School District, said the district has had conversations with student representatives about the closure.
“The conversation [focused] on student safety,” Devereux said. “Students also described how creating a cohesive campus could help strengthen their sense of belonging and provide more opportunities for connection.”
This controversial road closure is part of the district’s one-year pilot program, which took effect because the district installed three double portable classroom buildings at 721 W. Main. The high school needed replacement space after the district demolished its library science building in July.
Since the closure took effect, families have used Seventh Street Southwest and West Main to drop off and pick up children. Buses drop off and pick up students on Sixth Street Northwest, and the district has installed gates to allow emergency vehicles access to the area.
The district has argued that the closure is necessary to keep student pedestrians safe and reduce wrecks in the area. Neighbors spoke to The News Tribune about the closure in August 2024, saying they were worried about the traffic impacts.
“There is already a parking problem. By closing this road they’re going to cut off parking spots for students,” resident Nadine Weinrich told The News Tribune in August 2024. “There are no crosswalks. There are no sidewalks.”
She worried that closing the road meant traffic would be heavier in the surrounding neighborhood, making it more dangerous for pedestrians, including students who park and walk a few blocks to school.
What happened at the city council meeting?
Devereux gave an informal presentation at the city council meeting, meaning the council did not take a vote on the closure. This was a follow-up to a presentation the district gave to the council on July 22, saying they intend to make the closure permanent.
Between July and November, Deverux said the district has:
- Met with student representatives
- Completed a safety assessment report
- Held a community open house
Marne Heffron, the principal of Heffron Transportation – which is working with the district on this project – said they have analyzed collision data for 13 intersections and 10 roads to see if the Seventh Street Northwest closure affected the frequency or type of collisions.
She said the street closure hasn’t “adversely affected traffic safety” in the areas around the high school, and that there have been no accidents over the past year in the area of Seventh Avenue and Pioneer.
Heffron recommended that the following changes be made to make traffic around the area smoother:
- Changing some loading spots back to 8-hour parking
- Creating a bus loading zone for activity/visiting team buses
Steve Kirkelie, the city manager, told the council that in order to make the closure permanent, the district will have to:
- Formally file a petition to vacate the street. Sarah Gillispie, spokesperson for the Puyallup School District, told The News Tribune the district plans to file the petition in the first quarter of 2026.
- The city will then process the permit, and then put it before the city council
- The council would then need to conduct a public hearing and two readings of an ordinance. Council can also put conditions in that ordinance
- The district would then need to “pay the fair market property value” of the street in order to vacate it.
Devereux said the district is aiming to complete all of these steps before August, so that all the steps are done before the 2026-2027 school year.
What did the council say?
Council member Dean Johnson asked Devereux how many parking spots the district has available for students, how many spots they feel they need, and if there will be any overflow into the neighborhoods. Devereux said he didn’t know the specific numbers off the top of his head.
“What I can tell you is that there are not enough on-site parking stalls for students,” Devereux said.
Johnson then asked Devereux about the possibility of having students use the Sounder Garage. Devereux said the district tries to prevent students from using it, but said he would have to talk to people like the principal of Puyallup High School about the reasoning behind it.
“I’m discouraged, I hope the school changes their mind, especially if there’s a study on that,” Johnson said in response. “Because the implication is that if you don’t want them in this commercial, structured, safe, easy in-and-out way of getting to school … the alternative is that they go into neighborhoods and affect residents.”
Johnson mentioned that Sumner will be getting a Sounder Garage in just a few months, meaning that many people who live or work in Sumner will start going to that garage instead of the one in Puyallup – which frees up some space for students.
“I tell you one thing, the neighbors in the area better benefit from it substantially, from the inconvenience of the reroute of traffic,” Johnson said. “If that means street improvements, lighting, sidewalks, whatever to make the property values and some kind of mitigations, roundabouts, all those things – they have to be built into that. They need to be taken care of and mitigate that and make their properties at least protected against a thoroughfare, also improve the value in lighting and those kinds of things.”
Council member Renee Gilliam said she would like to see the district take some proactive steps to ensure that students minimize disruption to neighbors as much as possible.
“I think we need to put some responsibility on the Puyallup School District to educate our students on what it means to be a good neighbor,” Gilliam said. “If this goes through, it’s not free reign, go where you go, park where you want to park. There needs to be accountability: proper parking, respecting neighborhoods, not leaving trash in neighborhoods.”
Council member Lauren Adler agreed with Gilliam, saying that she graduated from Puyallup High School in 2007 and had two classmates get struck by cars while walking between the gym and the portables.
“I have been very inspired with what I see between students on campus and hope there could be some formal, somewhat serious conversations about what we want,” Adler said. “[We want] to protect you students. We are also a member of our neighborhood. We’re also a member of our community, and these are the expectations.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misstated when the school district plans to file a petition to vacate the street. Sarah Gillispie, spokesperson for the Puyallup School District, told The News Tribune that the district plans to file the petition during the first quarter of 2026.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
