The signal at 5th Street and Sherman Avenue will be decommissioned starting this week after stop signs are installed on 5th Street. A review by the city’s Engineering Department shows that the vehicle and pedestrian cross traffic is minimal and the signal is not really warranted. The signal is over 20 years old and does not respond to actual traffic volumes or movement, making it extremely inefficient.
Eliminating the signal will improve traffic progression on Sherman Avenue and improve the service to the side streets without compromising safety. A review of the intersection at 6th Street and Sherman Avenue revealed that the vehicle and pedestrian traffic is exactly the same as the 5th and Sherman intersection, and that there were very few accidents. Poles and mast arms will be completely removed on the corners that don’t have street lights, leaving just the poles where there is a street light on them. The “Walk/Don’t Walk” indicators will also be removed.
2 comments:
The City is maybe correct in its strict analysis of traffic and numbers, but shutting down the light rather than upgrading it is a mistake for local businesses. It'll simply accelerate traffic out of downtown. It'll also prove problematic to the farmers market if they keep it in the same location.
Every time I've been down there I haven't seen a whole lot of traffic on 5th. Lights are pretty expensive to upgrade for that amount of traffic, in my opinion. I haven't been down there though during the farmers market.
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