After conducting a walk audit at the intersection of 10th Street and Box Butte Avenue at the end of the school year, members of Activate Alliance shared their findings with the Alliance City Council at their meeting on June 7.
Michelle Robinson and Earl Jones, members of Activate Alliance, were present at the meeting, offering solutions to issues identified during the walk audit, and highlight the positive aspects already in place to keep pedestrians safe.
“There was one standing out concern we had was with the traffic light at that intersection,” said Robinson. “The east-west 10th Street light, when it changes from yellow to red, the left turn light going north and south on Box Butte turns green. So, it’s almost simultaneous, and we saw that can pose a potential problem. I see it all the time when I go home from work, and I just am aware to pause, even though the left, green turn signal is on, I pause and look for cross traffic, because I’ve also seen people run the yellow light, which automatically turns red.”
Jones explained that a yellow light is needed to allow for the intersection to clear. Robinson said that to prolong the traffic lights so that all the lights are red, they would need to come before city council.
“Activate Alliance was coming before you, hoping that could be one of the solutions,” Robinson said.
City Manager Seth Sorensen suggested having an engineer look at the timing of the signals so they can be adjusted to the traffic present.
“We definitely need to look at some pedestrian-activated buttons at the intersection,” Sorensen said.
Jones suggested not allowing a right turn on red on Box Butte Avenue to ameliorate some of the issues found.
“What happens is, people creep out over the crosswalk, looking to see if they can turn right on red, to see if anyone is coming,” said Jones. “On Box Butte, there’s three lanes: a left-turn lane, a go straight, and a right turn. So, we wanted to maintain the right turns on 10th Street, because, literally, that’s stopping the entire lane of traffic. So, if you let those people turn right, they don’t have to go past someone, usually.”
Jones said during the audit, they saw several near collisions occurring with people making turns.
“We thought a no right turn on red on Box Butte would be an asset to our safety,” Jones said.
Jones emphasized there have been positive improvements at the intersection, such as adding walking traffic lights and countdowns, children are using the creative crosswalks and waiting for the walk light.
Council Member John McGhehey asked if accidents at the intersection were researched as part of the walk audit. Jones responded that they were not because they do not have access to those data. He said the audit was primarily concerned with the times when children were going to school and leaving school, which are the busiest times.