The Public & Traffic Safety Committee talked about options for stop signs on 1st Avenue and 12th Avenue during its Nov. 13 meeting.
Chair Frank Gallagher said he’d like to see better and more prominent signs at 1st Avenue and Highway 20 to warn drivers that commercial vehicles are not allowed on 1st Avenue. He believes that the current signs are not large enough or explanatory enough for commercial drivers to realize they shouldn’t be driving through there.
Gallagher suggested they also consider the possibility of creating a three-way stop at Nandina Street and 1st Avenue.
“It does meet some of the requirements there for stop signs because it is an intersection with a low-volume entering a high-volume street,” he said.
Prior to this meeting, the City Council had decided a more formal process should be followed when it comes to requesting and approving stop signs. Assistant City Manager Cecily Pretty informed the committee about this new rule, adding that they will consider new stop sign requests once the formal process is outlined.
Interim City Manager Jason Ogden noted that a resident at 12th Avenue and Tamarack Street requested a stop sign at that corner where the streets turn into each other at a 90-degree angle. He recalled he’s been to crashes at that sight after drivers took the corner too fast and broke through residents fencing.
Committee member Joe Graybill said “there is none to little cross traffic” in that area, and “not every corner needs a stop sign,” adding that people should slow down and be careful; he doesn’t believe the corner needs a stop sign. Ogden would like to discuss the matter further at the next meeting.
During the Aug. 27 City Council meeting, a motion was approved to install temporary speed tables on 1st Avenue between Highway 20 and Highway 228, with the intent to study how that affects the conditions on the hotly debated road.
Ogden updated The New Era that the city has been waiting to hire an engineering director who could work on that project. Engineering firms were just approved for hire during the Nov. 12 meeting.
In other business, Ogden introduced the city’s new traffic officer, Daniel Gerkman, to the committee.