Neighborhood meeting tonight

After a short hiatus (I was on vacation last week), I will be back to blogging.

The crosswalk safety frenzy will continue tonight at city hall with a meeting scheduled to discuss another dangerous crosswalk in town at Arrow Highway and Oakdale Drive.

"Over the last ten years, there have been several deaths and accidents on the stretch of Arrow Highway between College and Mills," one area resident said. "The speed limit is 35 mph, but daytime and nighttime speeds look to average around 50 mph."

Area residents will meet with city engineers in a downstairs conference room beginning at 6:30 p.m.

After the recent pedestrian accident on Indian Hill and 10th Street, the city council decided to conduct a "warrant analysis" on installing a traffic signal at the intersection. Over the next couple of weeks, city staff will see if the volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic warrants a signal based on the requirements of the city's insurer, the JPIA.

If it's determined that there is not enough traffic there, the intersection will not get a new traffic signal. In that scenario, the city plans to install an overhead flashing beacon and remove the in-pavement lighting.

In the meantime, the city is repainting the zebra striping at the crosswalk and has posted new speed limit signs there.