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<br />65 <br /> <br />C.0 <br />M <br />M <br />Q <br />z <br />G <br /> <br /> <br />Regular Council Meeting <br />3/21/94 <br />Page Three <br />as much as 2 feet from its present level. The concern, is that even having just the one <br />way traffic, the northbound, is going to be skirting along the edge of where the work is <br />being performed to have then a transverse crossing will create a very hazardous <br />condition. This was originally set up in this fashion. O.D.O.T. and the County <br />Engineers approved of this plan. Our Police Department has reviewed it. We consulted <br />not only with the Traffic Engineer who designed this, but we talked with a number of <br />other people who looked at it. They agreed that this is probably about the only way we <br />can do this to maintain the safety. We considered the option of crossing over, we <br />considered two-way traffic. We were looking into some kind of alternative that would <br />ease the burden on this thing. We aren't in the business to make this tough for the <br />residents in the area. The bottom line is safety. We cannot man this thing 24 hours a <br />day. If we try to interrupt the work that is being performed, we endanger people who <br />are going to cross over. Effectively, you can go down into a crater to get back out again. <br />Cars can slip off of this. People can be injured. It is a very difficult situation to <br />maintain, a very hazardous one. I have talked directly with the contractor who would <br />work on the site and he endorsed this plan wholehearted from a safety standpoint. I <br />have talked with our Police Department, with our Fire Department, and I understand <br />Mrs. Marquardt has a video to show concerning fears.that you have about.response <br />time, that we have developed contingencies for that. Believe me, we have looked at this <br />and the bottom line is that as a safety feature, this is the best way to do it. It is going to <br />be an inconvenience. Ultimately, though, this is an intersection that everyone in your <br />neighborhood, as you well know, has wanted to have improved. This is the most <br />effective and the safest way that we can go about doing it. <br />A resident in the audience said that you mentioned safety. You are going to have traffic <br />going one way, coming down S.O.M. <br />Mayor Rinker said that is correct. That is most manageable. If we could shut it down <br />entirely, we coulcl, but we can't. <br />The resident asked isn't the safety factor just as great with one lane coming down and <br />going off the road as it is for two. - <br />Mayor Rinker said it is still a factor, but it is no where near as great. <br />The resident asked if there were a stoplight at one end and a stoplight at the other and <br />only one lane could go at a given time, you would still only have one lane of traffic <br />going through that road.