August 2, 2021 at 11:04 a.m.
Council authorizes Timber and Coolidge intersection study
Council authorizes Timber and Coolidge intersection study
SRF Consulting Group, Inc. of Minneapolis will conduct the study at a cost not to exceed $7,900, according to the motion unanimously approved July 26.
Discussion of the motion began with remarks from alderman David Holt, who characterized the intersection as unsafe and noted that "constituents of every district in town" have expressed concern about the crossing.
"This has been a significant problem for parents of school-age children," he said. "It's not a safe intersection when looking at the times of day that traffic flows into the high school and the middle school ..."
There has been some discussion of adding a stoplight to the intersection and this study will help the council learn more about whether that would be the most appropriate solution, he added.
The last estimate he is aware of for a signaled stop was $100,000, he added.
Holt referred to the crossing as a "six-way stop," as there are two dedicated turn lanes and a four-way intersection, and stressed that it is used heavily by young drivers.
"There are two dedicated turn lanes, plus the four-way intersection. To say it's a four-way stop is technically correct, but because you have two turn lanes as well, especially when talking about a lot of teenagers who are driving to the high school, we're not talking about very experienced drivers, no offense to any teenagers. It's a concern I've heard from constituents of every district in town."
Alderman Tom Barnett noted that traffic flow through the crossing usually moves well in the summertime, but in the winter the intersection "gets so congested and backed up."
"It's unnecessarily long to get across that intersection during the school year so a stoplight there would alleviate a whole heck of a lot of that," he added.
Alderperson Eileen Daniel noted that she has been concerned about that intersection since well before she was elected to the council.
She said she witnessed a child on a bike nearly get hit in that intersection and it has bothered her since.
"It was close and it was scary," she said of the near-miss.
"I will tell you that my kid came home from driver's ed and told me that they were told that at that intersection the best way to get through it was to make eye contact and assert dominance," she added. "I'm not making that up."
City Council president Ryan Rossing, a police officer, said he's "not a huge fan of stoplights" and there are some in Rhinelander that could be adjusted or eliminated. However, with work expected to begin on Timber Drive next year, he agreed that now is a good time to study the intersection.
"Because the Timber Drive project is going to be happening, I believe, next year, I do think that the study is going to be beneficial and I do agree with Eileen there is small window in the morning and in the afternoon hours where a stoplight would be safer, but for a large majority of the time a four-way stop moves traffic better, in my opinion."
At that point, alderman Gerald Anderson made a light-hearted suggestion of constructing a roundabout at that intersection.
While noting that Anderson's remark was intended as a joke, city administrator Zach Vruwink stressed that all alternatives will be considered.
"In all seriousness, all of these alternatives will be evaluated," he said, adding that there are some unique challenges associated with this intersection including a property line that encroaches into the roadway. "So there's some other issues going on that will constrain what we can do there," he said. "The reality of the study is it may tell us what we've got is the best alternative."
As the discussion continued, Daniel asked whether it would be possible to have some sort of "police direction" of the intersection for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Captain Josh Chiamulera of the Rhinelander Police Department responded that the department couldn't guarantee it could staff the intersection on a daily basis, given the volume of calls to which officers must respond throughout the day.
Rossing also noted that in his experience, the presence of police direction at an intersection can cause motorists to become more nervous and that can lead to other problems.
According to its proposal, SRF consulting will begin work on the study after the school year begins in September.
The work will include gathering historical crash data and information on the design of the Timber Drive roadway improvements. The firm will also set up a video camera at the intersection to capture 24 hours of video on a typical weekday while school is in session and create a spreadsheet depicting turning movements in 15-minute periods. The counts will be distinguished by passenger vehicles, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians, according to the proposal.
There will also be a field review of the intersection, noting conditions pertinent to traffic operations and safety, such as speed limits, land widths and usage, parking restrictions, sight distance, etc.
The work will conclude with the preparation of a memorandum "providing a recommendation regarding whether traffic signal control is justified," according to the proposal.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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