Franklin House, an assisted-living facility on Parker Road in Sumner is in need of a crosswalk.

This, according to Cheryl Hanni, the residence director at Franklin House, will make it safer for the home’s residents to leave the premises and travel toward the downtown area.

At the June 7 meeting of the Sumner City Council, Hanni spoke on the issue and urged the city to take steps to paint a crosswalk there.

Hanni said Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow encouraged her to address the council at a meeting when she told him of the issue.

“We have residents who like to go to Fred Meyer,” she said.

Residents who left the house to go to the area didn’t think crossing the street was safe, Hanni said.

Hanni wants to have two signs with the crosswalk to make it visible, and said some drivers along Parker Road already ignore the speed-limit signs. This makes for a risky situation when residence with limited mobility try to cross.

“It’s not safe for anyone with a walker,” Hanni said.

She said she plans to continue working with the city on the matter and attend another meeting.

The crosswalk is not the only section of the street in need of work, Enslow said.

“The bigger question is what to do with Parker Road,” he said.

Enslow said to update Parker Road, a parking strip and storm drainage is required, which makes it more costly. Estimates are not available for any improvements which may occur because the cost of intersection work varies widely and no official plans are in place.

“There are some streets over there that are left over from the county,” he said.

Enslow said this means the roads are built under Pierce County standards, not Sumner standards.

If in the future, talks result in the project going forth, he thinks grants may be the best source of funds and Sumner has a proven success here.

“We’ve gotten a lot of those grants. Think about all the sidewalk improvements,” he said.

Sumner is committed to the improvement of sidewalks and recently completed some repair.

The crosswalk matter was scheduled to go before the public works committee Tuesday.