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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTraffic Safety Commission 10-15-08 NOTICE OF MEETING AND AGENDA ST. CROIX COUNTY TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION October 15, 2008, 10: 00 A.M. Training Room — St. Croix County Sheriff's Office CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING OLD BUSINESS 1. Hwy 64 mile marker signs NEW BUSINESS 1. Hwy 63, school crossing at Baldwin Christian School 2. Emergency Traffic Control and Scene Management Guidelines 3. I -94 / STH 65 south ramp, traffic signal installation 4. Hwy 35 / CTH U intersection, River Falls 5. CTH F / Coulee Rd signage by new school ADJOURN (Items may be taken in different order) ** Additions /Changes /Corrections St. Croix County Traffic Safety Commission Minutes St. Croix County Traffic Safety Commission meeting was held on October 15, 2008, in Sheriff's Office training room of the Government Center in Hudson starting at 10:05 A.M. Present were: Cpt. Scott Knudson, Dennis Johnson, Chief Roger Leque, Sgt. Brian Erickson, Miles Wittig, Doris Peterson, Greg Helgeson, Chris Ouellette, Trent Betley, Robert Unruh and Marion Standaert. Introductions were made around the table for the benefit of the new attendees. Meeting was called to order by chairman Knudson. Chairman Knudson asked everyone to take a look at the minutes and then asked if there were any corrections to be made. Marion Standaert mentioned that Chuck Mehls had called her to bring to her attention on page 3, paragraph 5, he wanted to clarify that he wants both pedestrians and bicyclists to be required to use the bypass over the railroad tracks so that they do not impede traffic. Motion was made to adopt the July 16th minutes, seconded and approved. NEW BUSINESS There was a fatality outside of River Falls at the intersection of Hwy 35 and Cty U. A bicyclist crossed in front of a car, resulting in him getting hit and killed. Mr. Helgeson stated that he looked into the 5 year history of the intersection and there have not been a lot of crashes. The bicyclist had disabilities (including blindness in his right eye) that probably contributed to the accident. Mr. Helgeson explained that the long term goal is to put in an interchange at Radio Road in the year 2014 and then they would permanently close this intersection. They want to make the stretch from River Falls to the 1 -94 a freeway and get rid of all of the direct access roads. Sergeant Erickson confirmed that State Patrol is in the process of analyzing the breaking of the driver, but the driver stated he was going about 50- 55mph. Chief Leque stated that he did not get as many citizen complaints as he expected, but he and the City Board would like to have a traffic count done. With the new developments and expanding business park, he is sure there has been quite a rise in the past 5 -7 years. Mr. Helgeson asked that Chief Leque get him a letter requesting the study and stated that at most they would probably look at restricting turns at that intersection to hold it off until they complete the interchange at Radio Road. Mr. Helgeson also stated that he had been contacted by Sue Hanson from the Baldwin Christian School. The school was concerned about school children crossing Hwy 63 to get to the church and for the teenagers who park at the church and then have to cross over to the school. Mr. Helgeson made some recommendations to her, one of them being for the school to paint a cross walk 1 and then the state would put up some signage. The school had been interested in adding lights to the signage (at their own cost) but when they heard the cost (around $3,000) they opted not do to anything at this time. Mr. Helgeson is in the process of setting up training for 1 St responders, fire fighters, and police in Emergency Traffic Control and Scene Management. It will be a 3 - 4 hour training that should not cost the agencies anything. They are going to have training this year for counties with an interstate going through them and then everyone else will get trained next year. Mr. Helgeson wanted to inform us that shortly after our last meeting, there was a decision to put traffic lights at the south interchange of 1 -94 and Hwy 65 in Roberts. The three -way stop that is currently at the intersection is not keeping up with the traffic load. There will be a sensor in the pavement on the ramp to help trip the light when there is a back -up. This will only be a temporary traffic light, as in 2012 they are planning to redo the entire interchange with a new bridge, 4 lanes for Hwy 65, and making it flatter and smoother. Mr. Helgeson is unsure at this time if they will be putting in traffic lights or round -a -bouts in the new interchange. Mr. Wittig was concerned about there not being enough room for a right turn lane at this exit. Mr. Helgeson stated that 90% of the traffic for this exit turns left, so they are not willing to put too much money into the intersection when it is scheduled for renovations in the near future. In another item for new business, Mr. Helgeson told us that he had spoke with Mr. Ramberg (who could not make the meeting today) and told him that the County is not in compliance with the Federal Manual On Uniform Traffic Devices in connection with the signs that state a reduction in speed "When flashing" by the new school on Cty F. According to Wisconsin regulations the signage must read "when children are present" in case there is an electrical outage. They can keep the blinking lights; they just have to change the wording. Mr. Helgeson has advised him to make the changes. OLD BUSINESS Under old business (that we accidentally skipped over) Mr. Helgeson told us that they are in the process of putting up the mile marker signs on Hwy 64 starting when the four lane starts and ending on the west side of New Richmond. They are also putting exit number signs on top of the exit signs. This project will hopefully be done this fall. Mr. Wittig wanted to thank Mr. Helgeson for his help in this matter. BACK TO NEW BUSINESS Chairman Knudson had a question for Sergeant Erickson regarding if there has been any statute changes on Hwy 12 between Roberts and Cty U allowing trucks to use Hwy 12 and bypass the weigh station. Sergeant Erickson said there have 2 not been any changes. Sergeant Erickson stated that an Inspector has the right to stop any truck for any reason on Hwy 12, where a trooper or county deputy has to have probable cause to make the stop. Mr. Helgeson thought that one of the reasons for the traffic might be because it is labeled an "alternative route" for 1 -94. Mr. Johnson informed us that the daily fatality rate is down this year. It is currently at 466, where last year it was 597 and the 5 year average is 609. He also stated that revenues are going down because traveling is going down with the high gas costs and larger use of alternative vehicles, so the states are going to have to come up with alternative funding. The laws of the past month have been: August — Slow traffic must keep to the right September — Vehicles must stop for stopped school buses with their lights flashing (20 feet from bus) October — Headlamps must be turned on 30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes before sunrise. Mr. Johnson passed out a pamphlet on seatbelts and stated that we will lose federal construction money if we do not make seat belts a primary law. Mr. Johnson also reminded us that this is a bed time for car /deer crashes, with October and November being the worst. If you can't avoid the crash you should hit the deer head -on, do not swerve. Mr. Johnson told us the AAA has a new program called "Baby ICE" where you can get the stickers at their offices to put the ICE information on child car seats. You do not need to be an AAA member. Mr. Johnson also informed us that Hudson PD and River Falls PD have received a $10,000 grant for Click -It campaign, and the County has received a $12,000 grant. Ms. Peterson stated that at her meeting they brought up seatbelts, round -a- bouts, and people getting cut off when someone is passing them. Before the end of the meeting Mr. Helgeson wanted to let us know that the project for the intersection at Hwy 64 and Cty T has been delayed until 2010 due to lack of funding. This project was supposed to be starting soon. He also wanted us to know that Peirce County will be holding Home Technology Days in 2010, which should result in St. Croix County seeing more traffic. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:14 A.M. Respectfully submitted, Marion Standaert 3