9.8. SR 12-16-1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Wednesday, December 4, 1996 -'Safety Continued from page ! ~me it takes to cross. · MnDOT kas maintained t~t · %he issue is more one ofeduca- ;, tion, rather than impro~er , t~mlng of the lights (see tips on crossing safely). Mike Twaddle, who has been pressing to improve the high- way's safety ai%er his son was · ]~l]ed crossing it in October, said the timing is fine under ideal circumstances. ~But we all understand that ideal circumstances usually don'~ exist, because you're of%eh dealing with kids," he told Travis and Davidson.' He still feels there needs to be more Hme for children to cross the 'intersection. Keli Olin, another parent who has been involved in the · issue, agreed that the current fimlng works under ideal con- ' ditions. "Best case scenario is yes,' you can get across," she said Monday. "But there's a lot of' what ifs." · ~rm somewhat diasppointed ~hat ifs not going to be as safe as possible," she added. "I know that MnDOT feels it is really safe." ~ Mn_DOT has stressed the importan~-.e of understanHin~, what the walk and flash~-g don't walk signals mean. The walk is just intended to get people off the curb. The flashing don't walk is intended to get pedestrians all the way across the intersection prior to the steady don't walk indica- tion. Twaddle said the flashing don't walk is confusing, partic- ularly for kids. "I understand how it works," he told TraMs and Davidson. "I would say 95 percent of the people don't." Travis said they could do an educational show for public access cable TV. He suggested educating people through school newsletters and other meon$ as wen. He also said MnDOT could put in the new pedestrian crossing lights which have symbols rather than the words walk and don't walk. "We're not required to retro- fit all our signals with this new version, but if they (local residents) felt that that would be more helpful, we could do it," he said. Twaddle and Olin,. mean- while, are researching the i...de_a of pedestrian safety edu: How to cross a street or road safely.:. Always follow these steps when crossing a street · Before crossing, stop at the curb, edge of the road, or corner before proceeding, · Look le~-righb-le~ and if ifs clear, begin crossing, look- ing over your shoulder for turning vehicles. ' · Continue to check for txaffic while crossing. '" Traffic signal messages and their meanings · At intersections with traffic lights and pedestrian sig- nals, it's important to follow the signals carefully. Wait until you see the WALK sign-]~ following, again, the basic rules for crossing. ' ~ · A flashing DON'T WALK signal indicates you shouldn't start to cross the street. However, if you are in the middle of the street ond the DON'T WALK signal starts flashing, continue w~l~-g. You have ~me to complete the crossing. ~ · If you see a steady DON'T WALK signal, don't begin to cross the stxeet~ Wait for the next WALK signal. · The WALK signal and the green txsffic light indicate that it's your turn to cross the stxeet, but they do not mean it is safe to cress. The WALK signal and the green light mean look, and then, if it's safe, go. Sources: Minnesota; U.S. departments of transportation cation for Elk River area ele- 'mentary and junior high school students. ~ In other Highway 169 safety issues: ' ' · 1Red light running: Travis ' noted that running red lights is not just an Elk River prob- lem. '. ~That's not to say we're not · going to do what we can to minimize it~' he said. However, it clearly is a wide- spread problem. Travis pro- duced a Nov. 23 St. Paul Pioneer Press story which said that a new test camera set up to catch motorists runn~n~ red lights at one intersectio~n in St. Paul recorded about 250 violations in less ~.h_,n a day - far more than officials expect- ed. · Inadequate highway light- lng: Twaddle said the ligh~ng along Highway 169 in Elk Riveris inadequate and should be improved. Travis said that is one of the city's requests which MnDOTis -looking at for possible fund- ing. · Fencing along Highway 169: Twaddle said fencing and ligh~ng should be done right away, followed later by a pedestrian bridge.. "Do this thing incrementally," he sug- gested. · Pedestxian bridge: A pet/- tion drive asldn~, for a pedes- trian walkway ~ver Highway !69 is in its fin,] stages. Olin asks that people return the petitions to Sandy at the Elk River City Hall, 13065 Orono Parkway. ~The sooner we get those in, the better," Olin said. Copies will be sent to MnDOT.