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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTraffic Safety Commission 04-15-09 �a NOTICE OF MEETING AND AGENDA ST. CROIX COUNTY TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION April 15,2009, 10:00 A.M. Training Room — St. Croix County Sheriffs Office CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS 1. Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), request for projects 2. Hwy 35 / U / Whitetail Blvd. intersection, River Falls, interim and long -term safety improvements 3. Hwy 63/64/46 ( "four corners ") intersection, round -a -bout proposal 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 April 15, 2009, in Sheriff's Office training room of the Government Center in Hudson starting at 10:03 A. M. Present were: Cpt. Scott Knudson, Sgt. Brian Erickson, Miles Wittig, Greg Helgeson, Beth Cunningham, Tim Ramberg, Dennis Johnson, Ken Berg, and Marion Standaert. Meeting was called to order by chairman Knudson. When going over last meetings minutes there were two corrections to be made on page 2. In the third paragraph, first sentence of the paragraph it should state "..of Hwy 64 and Cty CC in New Richmond." And in the 6 th paragraph, first sentence "Dennis Erickson" should be "Dennis Johnson." Motion was made to adopt the January 21 minutes, seconded and approved. NEW BUSINESS Mr. Helgeson wanted to send out an invitation for any local projects with a documented history of crashes that might be eligible for funding. Mr. Helgeson said he could help walk them through the process. The due date for projects for 2010 is today, but projects for 2011 -2013 have a deadline of August 1, 2009. Mr. Helgeson wanted to keep us informed of the interim planning for the intersection of Hwy 35 / Cty U / Whitetail Boulevard. They plan on prohibiting any crossing maneuvers and left turns onto Hwy 35. Next year they are going to replace what they have now and put in new pavement with a raised island. Around 2013 this intersection will be gone when the new interchange at Radio Road is finished. The next item of business Mr. Helgeson had for us was the round -a -bout planned for the four corners at Hwy 63/ 64/ 46. Mr. Helgeson's co- worker, Beth Cunningham, the designer, was there and helped walk us through the layout. It is 24 feet of pavement, which is enough for about 2 lanes even though this will only be a one lane round -a -bout. It has been made very large to accommodate RV's, semi's, combines, etc. This round - a -bout is 25% larger than the round -a -bout in Rice Lake at Cty O and Hwy 53. The exits are 3 feet wider and the inside curb height has been lowered from 6 inches to 4. Tim Ramberg had questions on whether or not this could eventually be converted to a 2 lane round -a -bout and Ms. Cunningham answered that they lifetime of a round -a -bout is between 20 -25 years. After that timeframe, there will probably be new technology around and round -a -bouts might not be used anymore. Mr. Helgeson did want to state that the difference of going from a 4 -way stop to a one lane round -a -bout should speed up traffic as much as twice as fast. Mr. Helgeson stated he would like a letter from the committee in support of the round -a -bout and that was passed. Miles Wittig had concerns on how long it will take for the construction of the round -a- bout and Mr. Helgeson replied that the construction is set for 2012 and it will take about 3 months. During that time the intersection will not be closed, but traffic will be impeded during this time frame. 1 Dennis Johnson stated that as of yesterday our fatality count is at 109, which compared to this time last year was 133 and the 5 year average for this time of year is 168. Mr. Johnson stated that our total fatality count for 2008 is 588 which is 20% lower than 2007's total of 737. Mr. Johnson also stated that seatbelt use is up in the nation, but down in Wisconsin. If we can pass the primary seatbelt law by July 1, 2009, we will receive $15 -17 million dollars in Federal funding. Law of the month for February is "Give Driving Your Undivided Attention." Law of the month for March is "Move Over Law" requiring you to move over or slow down for law enforcement and emergency vehicles. And the law of the month for April is "Absolute Sobriety." Mr. Johnson also passed out brochures on "Teaching Safe Bicycling" workshop in Eau Claire and a Wisconsin informational sheet. Mr. Johnson reminds us that there are no helmet laws in Wisconsin for any age. Mr. Johnson also asked if any of us had any ideas for ways to improve road safety. If we did, he would submit those ideas for us. Brian Erickson received a call yesterday from a woman who has been passed twice on Hwy 64 by people going the wrong way. This is happening between Stillwater and Somerset. Apparently she is concerned that she never sees law enforcement around, so Mr. Erickson will send some patrol that way. Last fall Mr. Helgeson spoke about the Hwy 64 / T intersection which was being held off until 2010. Apparently it is now being brought back to 2009 and the bidding will begin on it soon. Ken Berg was here in the county trying to sign up the smaller agencies for the "Click it or Ticket" program. For agencies that send in their information during that time frame they are entered in a drawing for $4000. Chairman Knutson informed us that there had been three fatalities since our last meeting. One fatality was on Hwy 29, one on Hwy 128 and one on Hwy 63. Along with those fatalities we have had two Sundays in a row where people have gotten into almost identical serious accidents on Hwy 12 and Cty UU where highly intoxicated individuals are running the red light on Hwy 12 and t- boning the person making a left turn from Badlands Road. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 A.M. Respectfully submitted, Marion Standaert 2