Sean C. Morgan
The city’s Traffic Safety Committee will take a look at installing a traffic light or other options for improving the intersection of Pleasant Valley and Highway 20.
Jeri Reynolds, who works at White’s Electronics, asked the City Council to address the matter during its regular meeting on July 26.
“I would like to ask if we could push for a traffic light,” Reynolds said.
Wait times at the intersection have reached 10 minutes after White’s closed for the day, she said. “(During the) Jamboree last year, it was impossible to get out unless you were turning right.”
It wouldn’t be so hard, Reynolds said, if people weren’t flying over the hill north of the intersection. Vehicles run the risk of getting hit there and as they turn onto Main Street, she said.
The intersection has had many wrecks, Reynolds said.
This is probably a good time for the city to take a look again, said Mayor Craig Fentiman. “We’ll definitely get started on it. I think it’s about time.”
The Oregon Department of Transportation makes the final decision about traffic control, and it may look at different options rather than installing a light, Fentiman said.
The city has looked at that intersection as well as Clark Mill and Highway 20 before, but based on studies of the intersections, ODOT determined traffic lights were not warranted.
“It’s been a number of years,” said Joe Graybill, senior engineering technician.
ODOT may agree to lights or alternatives if the city chooses to pay for them, Graybill said. “Even if it did meet the warrants, I have had the impression they wouldn’t pay for it.
“We’re just going to discuss the options, whether it’s a traffic circle or some other traffic control,” Graybill said. Whether anything is done depends on whether the committee and council decide more traffic control fits and can find the money.
The last time he looked at it, lights cost $50,000 to $60,000 each direction for a total of up to $180,000 at Pleasant Valley.
Traffic circles are significanly cheaper, he said. That’s why they’re available as an alternative; and they slow traffic down, while helping people make their turns.
Vehicles can easily fill gaps in traffic, and it doesn’t matter if the roads are one lane or two, Graybill said. “You just have to drive slow.”
The Traffic Safety Committee meets next on Sept. 20. The intersection will be on the agenda.
Present at the meeting were councilors Marybeth Angulo, Mike Hall, Greg Mahler and Mayor Craig Fentiman. Absent were Jim Gourley, Scott McKee Jr. and Ron Rodgers.
In other business, the council:
n Approved a new contract with Municipal Court Judge Larry Blake. From Aug. 1 to July 31, he will receive $4,040 per month, plus insurance benefits. From Aug. 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013, he will receive $2,700 per month, plus benefits.
n Recommended approval of a new liquor license for Ma’s Restaurant, 4219 Main St., the location of the former Hong Kong Restaurant.
n Reappointed Sharon Akerfelds to a one-year term on the Library Board.
n Adopted revisions to the city’s personnel policies, last updated in the 1970s; a new fleet safety program; and revisions to the Sweet Home Public Library’s policy manual.