POULSBO — Ken Wesley lives near Torval Canyon Road and said he’s had to jump out of the way of a car driven by an inattentive driver.

“There are major issues that have to be addressed — better lighting, better signals for motorists,” Wesley told the Poulsbo City Council on Dec. 20. “The timing at the intersections — Bond Road, for instance, I get 10 seconds to walk across the road.”

Jim Groh worked for 15 years as a transportation engineer with the state Department of Transportation. He walks in town and said he’s seen “a decrease in the responsibility taken by drivers … [They’re] not taking the amount of caution that’s called for.”

Wesley — wearing a bright orange reflective vest — and Groh spoke at the council meeting in response to two pedestrians being struck by cars in separate incidents in Poulsbo.

Pamela A. Romberg, 69, was struck by a car at about 7:36 a.m. Dec. 15 while in the crosswalk at Front Street and Torval Canyon Road. She died later that day. at Harborview Medical Center. Poulsbo Police Chief Dan Schoonmaker said daylight visibility may have been a factor, and Washington State Patrol didn’t expect any charges to be filed against the driver.

Then, at 8:10 a.m. Dec. 19, Kathryn Heimbach, 63, of Poulsbo was struck by a car while walking across Hostmark Street at 15th Loop to get to a bus stop. She was taken to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton with what appeared to be critical injuries, Poulsbo Fire Department spokeswoman Jody Matson reported. Washington State Patrol is investigating.

City Council member Connie Lord acknowledged the danger pedestrians face when it comes to inattentive drivers.

“It is a serious problem,” she said Dec. 20. “We all are being encouraged to walk, we have a wonderful trail system through the city and yet we have to be defensive in our encounters with traffic. I’m very troubled by this but I want you to know that we care and are taking your comments to heart and we will try our best to come up with solutions.”

Mayor Becky Erickson called the incidents “tragic” and said, “We will look at things very carefully and see if there’s anything the city can do to help improve the situation.”

She advised drivers: “Everybody needs to be paying attention and looking carefully as [they] drive,” she said. “You need to slow down. It’s raining buckets, it’s dark, people are wearing dark clothing and it’s dangerous … It is your responsibility to keep those pedestrians safe.”

To pedestrians, she warned: “It’s dark out there, it’s December. You need to wear bright-colored clothes, you need to be perceptive … Don’t assume because you’re in a crosswalk that that car is going to see you. Make eye contact, wave at them.”

Schoonmaker said drivers must maintain awareness during the darker winter months.

“Drivers [have] got to constantly be paying attention,” he said in an earlier interview. “We’ve got a lot of foot traffic in this city and people who are walking can’t always expect that the cars are going to stop. You’ve got to be ever-vigilant when you’re driving and when you’re a pedestrian.

Schoonmaker also recommended pedestrians and joggers wear reflective gear.

Losses for Romberg family

On Dec. 15, Romberg’s aunt by marriage in New Ulm, Minnesota, was going to call her to thank her for a package she had sent.

Then, the family learned the news: Romberg had been struck by a car that day and died later at the hospital.

Romberg’s mother recently died at age 100. Her brother-in-law passed away on Sept. 26 in Indiana.

“The Romberg family has taken it kind of hard,” said Ann Williams, a cousin by marriage.

Williams read the story on KitsapDailyNews.com and wanted people to know more about her relative, that there was more to her than that tragic story. “She was kind and gentle,” Williams said.

Williams said the former Pamela Cordes and Marvin “Sonny” Romberg grew up in New Ulm, where Sonny worked for the city and taught school. They married on May 1, 1968 in Brown County, Minnesota, and had two sons, Patrick and Robin.

Sonny and Pam moved to Suquamish, but returned to New Ulm when Sonny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. They soon returned to Kitsap, moving to Poulsbo, because “Sonny wanted to be close to the water,” Williams said. He died in 2016, Williams said.