Longtime Snoqualmie resident Gloria McNeely still remembers what life was like before the infamous North Bend traffic light at State Highway 202 and Bendigo went up.

The light, which was installed at 3 p.m. July 1, 1965, replaced a problematic flashing yellow, and was installed by order of the legislature—the only such signal ever mandated by state law.

At the time, McNeely recalls, the North Bend light was the last signal on U.S. Highway 10, a.k.a. Interstate 90, between Seattle and Boston. It was intended to smooth traffic flow at North Bend, where backups from highway traffic were legendary.

“You could sit there until moss was growing before you could get across,” McNeely reminisced. “I used to say, ‘Babe, why don’t I walk across the street,” so that traffic would stop and her husband Denny could scoot across.

“He wouldn’t let me,” McNeely said. “He was afraid I was going to get hit.”

The light never solved those I-90 backups, which could stretch beyond Denny Creek during holiday weekends and the hunting season. Those didn’t go away until North Bend’s controversial freeway bypass in 1978. But it did make it easier for locals to travel in North Bend, where the city police chief had earlier warned pedestrians to get across the intersection as quickly as possible to stay on their feet.

“It made it a whole lot better for the people that lived here,” McNeely said. “You could finally get through.”

Carnation’s first stoplight, scheduled for installation this year at Tolt Avenue/Highway 203 and Entwhistle Street, won’t be quite as momentous as the North Bend light. But, like the installation of Snoqualmie’s first light at Meadowbrook Way and Highway 202 and second at Snoqualmie Parkway, the new Entwhistle signal will make it easier for drivers to make it onto the highway during busy commutes.

What’s more, Carnation gets its intersection free of local cost. Construction of the new light, estimated at about half a million dollars, is being paid for by grants and state money.

Hopefully, Carnation recognizes this moment with some appropriate hoopla and historical notation. The coming of a stoplight is a watershed moment for a community, a sign of progress and growth. Things won’t be the same anymore. Commuters have to get used to new patterns, awarenesses and driving times have to change.

History-making moment aside, Entwhistle drivers who’ve waited for years for change can now wheel around Carnation a bit easier.

In the words of city manager Ken Carter, “It’s just been a long time coming.”