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Line of sight obstructions at the intersections of Washington and Center streets and McKinley and Center streets were topics of discussion at the Warsaw Traffic Commission meeting Wednesday.
Public Works Director Dustin Dillon said he had Brandon Giek contact him about the Washington and Center streets intersection line of sight concerns.
Giek told the commission, “My concern stems from my commute to and from work, and then just talking to various colleagues, friends and family. And it’s really for southbound traffic on Washington Street as you approach Center Street. It appears as if, during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 to 4, cars are parking all the way along Center Street, almost all the way up to the intersection. So when you have to cross Center Street from there, you may, at best, be crossing just partially past the stop sign to check for oncoming traffic that’s heading west. And then, at worst, you might have to go all the way into the westbound lane of travel.”
He said if something isn’t done about the line of sight at the intersection, he could see the potential for a T-bone accident there. If the intersection can’t be made into a four-way stop, he wondered about limiting the cars parked along Center Street, specifically next to the Justice Building.
Warsaw Police Department Capt. Joel Beam pointed out the last parking spot on the north side of Center Street near the intersection is limited to small vehicles only. A sign at that location states, “Car parking only. No trucks or vans.” If that parking spot was removed, Beam asked Giek if that would help with line of sight.
Giek said maybe. He was unaware that the sign was for small vehicles.
City Planner Justin Taylor said one potential alternative, rather than taking out a parking spot, was something the city was potentially going to explore downtown Warsaw this year - creating a bump-out for pedestrians.
A bump out is a traffic calming device that extends the curb and sidewalk into the roadway, narrowing the road at the intersection, according to toledo.oh.gov. This makes pedestrians more visible to vehicles by providing a protected area with a shorter crossing distance and also protect parked cars on the roadway.
City engineer Aaron Ott said a bump-out “moves the stop point about ... 8 to 10 feet.”
Traffic Administrator Lance Grubbs asked if that would just be needed on the east side of Washington. Taylor said it would be wherever the visibility issues are, but the bump-outs could be put on both sides.
City Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins said, “I think both sides would be good because I know I go through the PNC drive-in bank a lot, and then I turn to go north and then essentially east. You still, even though the cars are parked a little further back on Center there, you still have to kind of creep into that intersection because they come pretty fast from Columbia.”
Dillon explained with a four-way stop already at Center and Columbia streets, it wouldn’t be ideal to put another four-way stop at Washington and Center. With the Millworks housing project coming on along in that area, Dillon said there will be a lot more pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
WPD Capt. Brad Kellar said there’s already a lot of pedestrian traffic there, and for years noticed it was going to be a problem but never thought to bring it forward because of “how much we interact around this building.”
Dillon said the curbs look to be painted, but they’ll be doublechecked in the spring and brightened up. Kellar said a lot of people aren’t paying attention to the car-parking only sign as bigger vehicles park in that spot, too. Beam said he can having parking control keep an eye out on that spot.
Dillon said if they get rid of the one parking spot on the east side of Washington, there’s plenty of space along the north side of Center Street on the west side of Washington for two parking spaces. Kellar suggested that space may be like that because of the turn lane on Center Street to north on Washington.
Taylor said he could explore a bump-out option with the Ride+Walk Committee and see if they could come up with something to bring back to the Traffic Commission.
Kellar then brought up the line of sight issue at McKinley and Center, specifically southbound on McKinley next to Jimmy John’s. He said that was a problem area, and what makes it worse is how busy Dunkin’ Donuts, Kroger and Jimmy John’s are.
“Nine times out of 10, when you come up that intersection, there’s cars that are parked all the way to the edge there, and, as luck would have it, it’s usually a big pickup truck. So when you’re trying to look at westbound traffic coming at you, it’s very, very difficult to see,” he stated.
Grubbs said they could talk to Jimmy John’s and see if the bumpers could be backed up. He thought there was plenty of room there to do that and still having parking spaces. Beam said the Jimmy John’s sign also interferes with visibility.
Taylor said the sign does adhere to the city’s ordinances. He said a simpler solution might be exploring pushing the bumpers back or see if angle parking would be an option.
The Traffic Commission agreed to table the matter for further review and it will be brought back up at their 1 p.m. Feb. 4 meeting at the WPD Training Center.
Pheasant Ridge Drive
Another matter the Traffic Commission discussed was the speed limit on Pheasant Ridge Drive in Pheasant Ridge Addition.
Grubbs said the posted speed limit is 30 mph and residents there say that’s too fast. They’re hoping the speed limit could be reduced to 20 mph.
Ott said, “Regardless, if there wasn’t a single house on that road, the geometrics of that road aren’t adequate for drivers to travel 30 mph safely.”
Grubbs said 30 mph is not as fast as one might think, but it’s plenty fast when you’re standing out there watching vehicles go by.
Beam said 30 is the maximum speed limit, not the suggested speed. State law says a driver has to slow down for conditions, such as an icy road.
Kellar said he couldn’t recall any request for the WPD to increase their patrols in the area. Beam said he checked the crash history and didn’t see any in that area in the last three years.
Kellar suggested there were probably more steps that could be taken before they get to the point of reducing the speed limit, such as increasing patrols out there. He assumed that the people using the streets in the addition are probably the people living there.
“I will put forward extra patrol out of patrol and we’ll run this through the summer. Let’s see if that makes a difference,” Kellar stated.
If there’s any speed limit signs up along there, Beam said he would put the speed boards up there. Beam said he will drive through there a couple more times at different times of the day.
Ind. 15 KABS Stop
Warsaw Community Schools Director of Transportation Mark Fick brought up his safety concern with the Kosciusko Area Bus Service (KABS) bus stop on Ind. 15 near Anchorage Road. It’s a matter he’s brought up before at the Traffic Commission meetings.
He said he witnessed a patron get off the bus at the bus stop at the bridge on Ind. 15 and walk to Shamrock Mobile Home Park, including crossing the railroad tracks. It was snowing, there was snow plowed onto the bridge, and so the patron had nowhere to walk on Ind. 15.
“There’s no sidewalks. It’s road. That’s it,” Fick said.
Taylor said there will be sidewalks on Anchorage Road. Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner said sidewalks will run all the way to Sunset but not to Ind. 15 because there’s not enough right-of-way. No matter what, the sidewalks weren’t going to cross the railroad.
Kellar said with all the room that there is at the shoulder, just north of the Ind. 15 and Anchorage Road intersection, why KABS would pick that spot on Ind. 15 for a bus stop. “It’s a head scratcher,” he stated, and Fick agreed.
Kellar said they don’t have any authority on Ind. 15 so he didn’t know what they could do about that stop other than complaining to the state. Beam said he could reach out to his friend at the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).
Fick suggested KABS could move their stop to Shamrock and they would pick up more business. Kellar recalled one of the issues was KABS wanted to keep the deviated fixed route within an hour’s time.
KABS also didn’t want to cross the railroad no more than it had to because that could affect the bus route’s schedule and KABS’ passengers may have to be at their appointments or to work within that hour.
Taylor said KABS started the route with the understanding that it may evolve over time.
Grubbs agreed with the concerns about the location, but the state thought it was OK when they approved it. He asked Beam to talk to the state and see what their reasoning might be.
Ott pointed out Anchorage Road will be under construction probably in March or April, but “we’ll learn more about their specific schedule at a pre-construction meeting soon.” He said there will be phased construction and traffic limitations along that road in March or April until the end of the year. Alternate routes will be recommended.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Dillon stated.
Grubbs asked if there are plans for a roundabout at CR 200N and Husky Trail. Skinner said they are currently being designed. Timing will depend on a lot of different factors. The first step will be getting an approved design, cost estimate and then fitting it into the budget. Whether it happens this year or next, it’s being designed.
