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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTraffic Safety Committee 04-18-07 i V r ST. CROIX COUNTY NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING TO: Clarence Malick, Chairman FROM: John Shilts COMMITTEE TITLE: St. Croix County Traffic Safety Commission DATE: April 18, 2007 TIME: 10:00 A.M. LOCATION: Room 1281 (first floor, across from County Board Room) 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINTUES UNFINISHED BUSINESS: NEW BUSINESS: 1.) Review fatalities ANNOUNCEMENTS & CORRESPONDENCE POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: ADJOURNMENT (Agenda not necessarily presented in this order) SUBMITTED BY: John Shilts DATE: April 9, 2006 COPIES TO: County Clerk News Media /Notice Board Committee Members t St. Croix County Traffic Safety Commission Minutes St. Croix County Traffic Safety Commission meeting was held on April 18, 2007, in room 1250 of the Government Center in Hudson at 10:03 A.M. Present were: Miles Wittig, Dennis Johnson, Greg Helgeson, Tim Ramberg, Charlie Grant, Brian Erickson, Buzz Marzolf, Marion Standaert, and Mike Winberg in place of John Shilts. Meeting was called to order by Sgt. Winberg, who asked for introductions around the table. There were 2 changes to the January 24 meeting minutes. Mr. Ramberg stated that on the second page in the last paragraph it should state "Transportation committee" not "Traffic committee." On the third page at the first noted indentation, Mr. Johnson wanted to add that he worries about "age" profiling instead of just "profiling." Motion was made to adopt agenda, seconded and approved. Motion to adopt the amended changes in the minutes, seconded and approved. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Mr. Wittig reiterated his concern with the discrepancy on the speed limit when entering New Richmond. Sgt. Winberg stated that he had received a complaint on that subject, but had driven the road and did not find any problems. Mr. Wittig does not like that the 45 mph zone stretches out so far. He stated that it is an unnecessary restriction and that the City has too much authority. Mr. Helgeson again stated that usually the speed is reduced when the road narrows down and curb and gutter are present. Mr. Helgeson passed out three pictures of the new signage at the Hwy 35 / Hanley Road round -a -bout. The signage has yet to be approved by the Federal Highway Administration. They are allowing it to be used and after six months Mr. Helgeson needs to send them comments that he has received. Sgt. Winberg stated that he lives near that intersection and it is heavily trafficked from the nearby industrial park. There are several transfer companies that run out of the park. Sgt. Winberg thinks that the signage is excellent, but had two criticisms. One was that he wishes there to be a sign at the bottom of the ramp from Hwy 35 warning people that there is a round -a -bout ahead. He states that people come rushing up the ramp and are going too fast for the round -a -bout. The second issue Sgt. Winberg had was that he feels that the round -a -bout is not large enough for the semi traffic that it receives. He stated that he has seen many tractor - trailers that cannot turn and stay in the same lane. The tractor is in the outside circle and the trailer ends up in the inner circle. Mr. Ramberg also stated his concern about the turn being too abrupt. Mr. Helgeson stated that trucks are supposed to be using the "truck apron," but some aren't using it because their load may be damaged. He feels the angle of the truck apron needs to be lowered, but not so low that people will "cut" across the circle. Mr. Ramberg told 1 t Mr. Helgeson to use the Highway Department's need to safely plow snow as a reason for needing a change. Mr. Marzolf commented that back in January or February when it was very cold he was at the Carmichael intersection and noticed black ice on the intersection. He drove down and checked out the Hwy 35 / Hanley round -a -bout and there was no black ice present. He feels this is because the cars do not stop, so black ice has no time to form. Mr. Marzolf also feels that since the speed is lower in the round -a -bout, if there are any accidents they will not be as bad. Currently that round -a -bout is signed at 15 mph. Mr. Helgeson said that if anyone wants to see an example of a simple, one -lane round -a -bout, to check on the one in River Falls on Cemetery Road and Wasson Lane. Mr. Ramberg stated that he took his son (a new driver) on that round -a -bout in River Falls and he did fine with it. Mr. Helgeson stated that the intersection of Hwy 64 and Hwy 63 (4 corners) is scheduled for a round -a -bout in 2010. Mr. Ramberg informed the committee that the Highway Department has several safety projects that are planned. On County I, north of Somerset they plan to realign the intersection with the town. This is a $90,000 intersection issue. The next project is County M at 170 Street. He has had people tell him that after they pull out they will drive in the wrong lane until the people behind them have passed by and then they get back into the right lane. The way to solve the problem is to cut the hill, but this is expensive and a possible snag is the new town chairman. If they don't have any problems they will move forward with this project. The last project Mr. Ramberg discussed was County T and County E by Hammond (near the townhall). Mr. Ramberg had sent in for federal funds, but the numbers did not work out so they are looking to budget with local dollars. Mr. Helgeson would like the Committee to send in a letter "backing up" the round - a- bouts. Motion seconded and approved. NEW BUSINESS Sgt. Winberg informed the Committee that there have been 7 fatalities since our last meeting, which brings St. Croix County up to 9 fatalities for the year. He pointed out that 2 of those fatalities were double fatalities, so there was actually 7 crashes with 9 victims. - 1/31/07 a drunk driver hit the guardrail on new Hwy 64 multiple times and the passenger from Crystal, Minnesota, was killed. Neither person was wearing a seatbelt. There was no ice at the time, driving conditions were good. Witnesses state that the driver may have been exceeding 100 mph. - 2/24/07 was a double fatality that happened on 1 -94 near exit 1 when the driver went off the road and hit a tree. Both the driver, age 27, and the passenger, age 15, from Chicago, were not wearing their seatbelts and as a result were thrown from the vehicle and killed. The driver was driving too fast for the snowy conditions. 2 i - 3/3/07 on 130 Avenue south of Boardman a snowmobile driven by Jason VanDyke, age 34, came out of a field drive and shot across the road and was hit by a truck. No alcohol was involved. - 419/07 on Hwy 65 Y2 mile south of County SS north of River Falls, Maynard Pierson hit a school bus. Before succumbing to his injuries Mr. Pierson told a witness at the scene that he thought he feel asleep. There was extensive damage to the bus. No children were on the bus at that time. - 4/10/07 was a double fatality on 1 -94 at MMP 22 in the westbound lane, east of the Baldwin exit. Mrs. Moen, age 46, and her daughter, age 14, were killed. They were returning from a vacation in Florida when her 17 year old son stated that he was jerked awake and he saw his mothers head drop as she fell asleep. The car crossed the median and overturned. The daughter who was unrestrained was ejected and landed in the middle of the highway. She died the next day in the hospital. Mrs. Moen was wearing her seatbelt (unknown if she was wearing it properly) and was partially ejected. She died at the scene. The surviving son was wearing his seatbelt. Sgt. Winberg stated that there seemed to be no need for any structural changes due to the fact that these fatalities seem to be the result of driver error. He stated that for 2006 we only had 10 fatalities for the entire year. Mr. Johnson stated that according to his report from the State, there was a fatality reported in the City of New Richmond on North Pierce Avenue. The report stated that the accident happened on March 29 at 6:18 am, where a 52 year old was killed. This might be a mistake; it might have been reported in the wrong town. Sgt. Winberg will check on this today. Mr. Ramberg said that they are going to be submitting a proposal to Madison for safety funds regarding Hwy 64 and County T, east of New Richmond. St. Croix County is contributing $10,000. He explained that it might be harder to get safety funds because more of the money is going for other projects. This request to rebuild the intersection is for $500,000. They plan on having a raised concrete island and permanent concrete rumble strips. Mr. Ramberg won't have a reply for several months. He explained that they will be revisiting the resident's on the north side in regards to possible noise. Mr. Helgeson talked about Hwy 65 and County TT in Roberts. He stated that it is part of a 4 intersection package he has consultants working on. This includes Hwy 65 and County G south of New Richmond to see if a round -a -bout is necessary. He should have results in the next month. This fall on I -94 (towards the east end of the county) they will be doing bridge work. They will be overlaying the concrete bridge decks. Starting after Labor Day, for six weeks, I- 94 will be down to one lane. 3 Mr. Ramberg wanted Mr. Helgeson to know that he had sent a letter and in this letter he put in a good word for Mr. Helgeson's 2 projects. (County G & Hwy 65 and County T & Hwy 64). Mr. Marzolf stated his concern on County F from Troy Burne to Hudson. He had received a call from a constituent and had also heard it brought up at the Troy Annual Meeting. When you are going south on County F towards Hudson past the golf course you come to a hill. At the top of the hill is East Cove Road. This intersection has improved with the implementation of turn lanes, but there is still a problem when you are on East Cove Road and are turning left onto County F. People will pull out and all of the sudden you have a car right on your tail. Mr. Marzolf is unsure of what can be done. He brought up the ideas of posting a sign stating "unsafe intersection," more patrol, or lowering the speed limit. Mr. Marzolf did state that he thinks the Sheriff's Department is doing a good job pulling over speeders. Mr. Ramberg informed the Committee that he has a consultant currently working on a feasibility study for County F and he will pass this on to be included. He also stated that they are looking into the need to restrict access to County F. Sgt. Winberg stated that the issue with restricting access is fire and ambulance not having good access. He will also tell patrol to concentrate more on speeders on County F. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE Mr. Johnson stated that the daily fatality report is up to 174 for this year so far. He also informed us of the new tip for the month of February (2007) being drivers giving their undivided attention to driving. He did state that we do have a law against drivers watching TV while driving. The cost of inattentive driving is $173.43 and 4 demerit points. The tip for March (2007) is that drivers must give way for emergency vehicles, known as the "Move Over Law." The fine for this infringement is $249.00 and 3 demerit points. The tip for April (2007) is that traffic fines double in work zones. He stated that most of accidents are people getting rear - ended. And that 3 out of 4 killed are motorists, not road workers. The fine for this can be anywhere from $198 to $879 and 3 -6 demerit points. Mr. Johnson handed out a sheet that contained crash trend information for populations per 100,000 residents. The next meeting is set for July 18 in the same room. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:16 A.M. Respectfully submitted, Marion Standaert 4