At the April 7 Battle Ground City Council meeting, council members clashed with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) over proposed speed changes to Main Street (Highway 502) and Highway 503 within city limits. Following a series of serious crashes, the council unanimously voted to pursue different speed limits than those recommended by WSDOT.
WSDOT’s study proposed reducing the speed limit to 30 miles per hour in front of Albertsons on state Route 502. For state Route 503, which intersects with 502, the department recommended a 55 mph limit through the entire stretch within city limits.
Currently, Main Street (state Route 502) is posted at 50 mph from the west city limits to milepost 5.09 and 40 mph from there past Albertsons.
The council wanted no part of WSDOT’s suggestions. Councilor Shane Bowman expressed deep frustration with the inconsistent speed limits suggested by WSDOT.
“That’s insane to me that these idiots are freaking running the show,” Bowman said during discussion, slamming the state’s proposed limits.
The proposals came in the wake of two serious collisions, including one fatality in March near Albertsons and a critical injury in a January hit-and-run further west on Main Street.
“The results of this (study) are horrible. It’s 35 mile an hour in Dollars Corner. There’s nothing in Dollars Corner,” Bowman said. “And you’re in the city limits and they want to say 50, and 40, and oh, we’ll lower to 30 in front of Albertsons because there’s been a few wrecks?”
Council members additionally questioned WSDOT’s logic in recommending 50 mph zones in developing or already busy areas.
Instead, the council voted to propose a maximum speed of 30 mph on Highway 502 through city limits and 40 mph on Highway 503, positions that will now be brought to a public hearing scheduled for Monday, May 5.
“I would like to see us push back and say, ‘no, we want to slow these vehicles down,’” Bowman said. “We want to make it safer in our community and we don't believe that you're doing that with what you're doing.”
Public Works Director Mark Herceg acknowledged that WSDOT's proposal was based on completed speed studies and engineering assessments but noted that final authority requires an ordinance passed by the city.
“They don’t have the legal authority, is the right word, but essentially they need our authority to ultimately approve that speed limit because it is in our city limits,” Herceg explained.
Though the roads run through Battle Ground, WSDOT owns and maintains both state highways 502 and 503. Any changes to posted speeds must be mutually agreed upon by the city and WSDOT.
While the council showed some support for reducing speeds to 30 mph along Highway 502, some expressed hesitation on altering Highway 503, noting WSDOT would be unlikely to approve.
“I don't think we have any reasonable chance of getting 30 on 503,” Mayor Troy McCoy said. “503 is gonna be tougher,” Bowman agreed.
The council settled on a compromise: propose 30 mph through all of Highway 502 and 40 mph on all of Highway 503 within city limits.
“This is just to set the ordinance. We're still gonna have a public hearing. We’re still gonna hash this out later,” McCoy said. “But this just gives us, I think, a clear and concise story.”
City staff said they will contact WSDOT regarding the proposed ordinance and begin the process of seeking the department’s signoff.
The city’s formal ordinance will be open to public comment on May 5. If approved, the speed reductions would still require final approval from the Secretary of Transportation.
City commends communications manager for role in finding Main Street hit-and-run suspect
During the April 7 Battle Ground City Council meeting, Flynn presented a formal commendation to City Communications Manager Alisha Smith for her key role in helping find the suspect in a January hit-and-run that left a pedestrian with life-threatening injuries.
Battle Ground Police Chief Dennis Flynn praised Smith’s “professionalism, creativity and dedication” during a brief ceremony, noting her work was “instrumental in bringing this case to resolution and delivering a sense of justice to the victim and her family.”
The case stemmed from a Jan. 11 incident in the 3300 block of West Main Street, where a 45-year-old woman was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene. With no witnesses or surveillance footage, investigators initially had little to go on.
Despite the limited evidence, detectives recovered vehicle debris from the scene, including pieces believed to be from a taillight and side mirror. That analysis helped identify the suspect vehicle as a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 or 3500, model years 2020 to 2025.
From there, Smith stepped in to craft a detailed public notice.
“She responded with exceptional professionalism and skill, creating a highly informative and visually compelling post for the press and social media,” Flynn said during the presentation. “As a direct result of Alisha’s efforts, the post generated a crucial anonymous tip within just one day of publication.”
That tip led police to a residence in Woodland. There, authorities found a matching Silverado with damage consistent with the crash. The suspect, Clarance “Butch” Holt II, was arrested on Jan. 16 in connection with the incident.
Smith downplayed her role in the case following the ceremony.
“I would not have had anything to put out had it not been for the extraordinary efforts of our detectives unit and, of course, partner agencies that helped us out with that,” she told The Reflector. “It was a very nice gesture regardless.”
Smith emphasized the collaborative effort behind the arrest and the importance of timely, accurate public information in helping close such cases.
“If we work together to get good information out to the public as we did in this case, then the public shows us support by sharing that information as well,” Smith said. “A lot of credit goes to the community … We couldn’t be more grateful.”
