Haochen Xu was just 4 years old.

He loved to read, had no trouble making friends and possessed a penchant for learning.

Haochen died June 27 at Harborview Medical Center, the day after a driver struck him as he and his mother tried to cross Newport Way Northwest in Issaquah.

Investigators say the driver was not speeding, but that is little consolation for a community that says the posted 40 mph speed limit along the road is way too high.

Changes are likely coming to the road, with Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler recommending a speed limit decrease. But this is after the worst case scenario became reality.

It took the death of a 4-year-old boy for real change to happen.

For years, neighbors on Newcastle’s Southeast 75th Street corridor worried a similar scenario would play out on their roads.

They’ve witnessed too many close calls, too many near accidents and too many speeding vehicles to feel safe living outside their homes.

The neighborhood can breathe a sigh of relief now, after the Newcastle City Council moved staff to initiate the long-awaited installation of speed humps on the corridor.

The vote took some courage, especially after a staff presentation that outlined the reasons the corridor did not require speed humps.

Studies showed speeds on the street are not out of control. As a result, staff suggested other measures, such as wide-edge striping and initiation of a neighborhood speed watch program.

But those studies, which only measure speed over a specific time period, can’t replace the experience of living on the street daily and witnessing something completely different.

It would have been easy for the council to take the numbers outlined in the study and send the neighbors packing without their desired speed humps. However, five of the six voting council members that night rightly looked past the data and into the worried faces of their constituents.

What happened in Issaquah must not happen in Newcastle, and neighbors believe the speed humps will save lives.

The council should be applauded for listening to their residents’ concerns, even when the data showed something different.

At the same time, the neighbors of the Southeast 75th Street corridor deserve an equal amount of praise for their unceasing fight in this battle. Their street will be safer, because they demanded it of their elected officials.

It was a true case of the numbers saying one thing, and the heart saying another.

In the end, as Councilman John Dulcich said, voting for the speed humps was “the right thing to do.”

You endured the tests, the homework, the projects, the classes, the early start times and the occasional sleepless night to get to this point — right here, right now, the finish line is in sight.

Liberty and Hazen high school seniors will receive their diplomas at separate ceremonies June 12. Hazen’s is at the Kent ShoWare Center, while Liberty’s is at Safeco Field.

Now is the time to reflect. When you stare in the mirror, dressed in full graduation regalia, what will you remember most?

Is it that teacher that got more out of you than anyone, including yourself, could imagine? Is it the coach that cared more about the athletes than the wins and losses? Is it your parents, the ones who supported you along the way?

Is it your classmates, you know, the ones you relied on just to get through a long day? Is it your friends, the ones that stood by you through the ups and downs?

Or could it be the school itself? Will you miss that new state-of-the-art facility that Liberty students call home (all the while trying to erase the memories of “portable city”)? Will you miss driving down Hoquiam Avenue every day and rushing into Hazen just before the start of class?

Whatever it is, high-school graduation is a big life milestone and the moments that got you here shouldn’t be discounted.

As you sit on the floor of the ShoWare Center, or in the stands at Safeco, stop and remember this day. Laugh as your class speaker says something totally crazy, cry when your valedictorian says something really poignant and beam with pride when you cross the stage to receive your diploma.

When it’s all over, you deserve to celebrate, and you will, whether it’s at the school-sponsored post-graduation outing, or the many summer parties to come.

Just be sure to do so responsibly. You don’t need drugs or alcohol to commemorate the past decade of schooling.

Traveling to or from a summer celebration? Keep your eyes on the road and don’t drink and drive. A AAA Washington study calls the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day the “100 deadliest days for teen drivers and their passengers.”

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers, the study said. Impairment, speed and distraction are the major contributors to teen-driver involved traffic fatalities. Learn more at teendriving.AAA.com.

Start this next chapter of your life right by partying safely and responsibly.