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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-20-23 Public Comment - R. Miller - Traffic control at Flanders Mill_Oak Street intersection and around Gallatin High_Meadowlark Elementary perimeterFrom:Miller,Rebecca To:Agenda Cc:rxbecky@aol.com Subject:Traffic control at Flanders Mill/Oak Street intersection and around Gallatin High/Meadowlark Elementaryperimeter Date:Thursday, April 20, 2023 5:40:02 PM Attachments:image001.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hello City Commissioners and traffic safety engineers, I would like to request urgent consideration of changes to prevent serious pedestrian and automobile casualties along the perimeter of the Gallatin High/Meadowlark Elementary school complex. The traffic control in this area is sub-par compared to the rest of the district school zone and pedestrian safety cautions, and has already resulted in several traffic accidents and near-miss pedestrian injuries involving school-aged children. Urgent attention is required to improve safety and prevent fatalities. I respectfully request review of the current traffic controls, and have included my ideas for improvement highlighted below. I am a resident of the Flanders Mill neighborhood. I have one child that attends Meadowlark Elementary and one that attends Chief Joseph Middle School. My youngest child needs to cross (at the crosswalk) from the Flanders Mill neighborhood to the opposite side of the road. The only marked crosswalk within that section is immediately to the east of the high school driveway entrance. Unfortunately, that is also the main entrance and exit for the high school student parking; many drivers do not observe caution or stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. My child has nearly been hit several times, despite waiting for cars to stop and trying to cross with other kids in groups. There is no light at that intersection, only a 2-way stop sign. I believe a flashing crosswalk light on Flanders Mill across from the Gallatin High parking entrance would be of great benefit, as well as a raised crosswalk (speedbump). Additionally, the speed limit on this road is too high…in other city school zones (compare to nearby Babcock in front of Hyalite Elementary) the speed limit is 20 mph around school hours and there are multiple flashing crosswalk lights. My other child attends Chief Joseph Middle School, and rides the bus. She has to ride the bus because there is no safe route with appropriate traffic controls from our street to Chief Joseph. The crosswalk at Flanders Mill and Oak Street does not have a stoplight, or flashing pedestrian lights. More importantly, the narrowing of lanes obstructs a driver’s view of a short (ie-child-sized) person who is trying to cross the road. There are only 2 stop signs, oncoming traffic does not stop, and combined with the poor visibility this is a recipe for disaster. As an adult dog-owner, I do not even try to cross the street here with my pooch…I go out of my way another block towards the dog park to go to the stoplight because that is safer. Traffic on Oak Street routinely flows at 45 mph with very little speed enforcement. This intersection is extremely busy and it is common for cars attempting to cross Oak Street to have to wait 2-5 minutes for a gap in traffic to be able to make it across. Multiple accidents have occurred when drivers have mis-judged their opportunity. Please, please, consider making the Oak Street/Flanders Mill intersection a stoplight traffic control with pedestrian crossings designed for children to use. We only have two middle schools in town, and this intersection is the way to school for almost the entire west-side population of kids that ride their bikes or walk to school. Additionally, the speed limit on this road during school hours should be decreased to allow safe passage of children across the street. Ideally a short section of 20mph around the perimeter of Gallatin High School would be beneficial. Once across this intersection, the walking middle school student has to cross the roundabout at Ferguson and Baxter to reach the school. Although most drivers do not speed here (as the roundabout is unforgiving), there is not a flashing pedestrian crosswalk to make students more visible. The landscaping and raised roundabout also obstructs visibility of a short child-sized student, which creates a hazard that is unnecessary. An easy fix would be installation of flashing crosswalks at the roundabout on Baxter and Ferguson, similar to what is recommended above. There are at least two “repeat offenders” among the high school drivers that I have personally observed driving in excess of 45 mph along my residential street (which is not even a direct route) when leaving the high school. I have observed the make/model/license plate of these vehicles and warned my children to be aware of these vehicles when crossing streets, even in our neighborhood. I feel it should be a privilege to drive to school, and that the student body leadership should have enforcement rights for poor driving that impacts the reputation of the school and affects the nearby community. Parking on campus should be a privilege, not a right. If a driving student is reported to be a danger to the elementary school students walking home in the neighborhood, that student should have their on-campus parking privileges revoked. I recommend that the City Commissioners delegate the right to revoke on-campus parking privileges to appropriate school officials when circumstances occur that indicate a student is not a safe and cautious driver in the area surrounding school property. Thank you again for your time and consideration for the safety of our children and our community. Rebecca Miller, PharmD. Concerned Citizen 4156 Sunstone Street Bozeman, MT 59718 406-570-7380 Pharmacist Informatics Specialist Bozeman Health rebecca.miller@bozemanhealth.org This communication is confidential to Bozeman Health and is intended solely for the use of the individual or organization to whom it is addressed. It may contain privileged information. Ifyou have received this message in error, please notify the originator immediately. If you are not the intended recipient, you should not use, copy, alter, or disclose the contents of thismessage. 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