HomeMy WebLinkAboutTSMinutes_2013_11_14BROOKINGS TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
City & County Government Center
Thursday, November 14, 2013
12:10 p.m.
The Brookings Traffic Safety Committee held its monthly meeting on Thursday, November 14,
2013, at 12:10pm in Conference Room 241 of the City & County Government Center.
Members Present: Daryl Englund, Brian Lueders, Skip Webster, Carol Rettkowski, John
Howard, Gregg Jorgenson, Tony Sonnenburg, Gary Graham, Tim Heaton and Jackie Lanning.
Members Absent: Jeff Miller, Mike Fossum, James Weiss and Pete Kirchhevel.
Others Present: Jeff Fritz representing Daktronics.
Call to Order: Englund called the meeting to order. Howard/Webster moved to approve the
minutes from the October meeting. All present voted aye.
Additions to Agenda: None
Old Business:
Discussion of 4-way stop sign at the intersection of 17th Avenue South and 15th Street South.
Lanning told the committee that she monitored this intersection on Wednesday, November 13,
2013 between 2:00 and 2:50 PM. The longest backup of vehicles on 15th Street South, heading
east, was 4 to 5 at one time, however, there was a lot of pedestrian traffic. She stated that
installing a stop sign could back up traffic on 17th Avenue S. Lanning recommended the city
continue to monitor the intersection. Sonnenburg stated that a crossing guard would be the
best option for the pedestrians in that area. Lueders spoke on behalf of the school district
stating that they would like a stop sign for the safety of the students. The afternoons have more
pedestrian traffic due to many students walking home from school, whereas the students are
dropped off by the parents in the mornings. Lueders asked that the committee keep this item on
the agenda for the next meeting and he will ask Principal Fiedler of the Camelot Intermediate
School to come and talk to the committee about the issues and safety.
New Business:
Request to remove parking from one side of 32nd Avenue near the intersection of Daktronics
Drive and “Old Daktronics Drive”:
Jeff Fritz provided the committee with a map and explained the new traffic patterns for
Daktronics. He explained there were a lot of near accidents at these two intersections and
Daktronics is looking for more controlled traffic on their campus. They would like the north
parking lot to exit on LeFevre Drive and the south parking lot to exit out onto Prince Dr. He said
“No Parking” signs on 32nd Avenue near the intersections of Daktronics Drive and “Old
Daktronics Drive would allow vehicles and pedestrians exiting those streets to have better
visibility onto 32nd Avenue. Daktronics leased a portion of their parking lot to SGS for their
employees to park in rather than on 32nd Avenue which will result in additional walking traffic
across 32nd Avenue. Fritz stated that having the “No Parking” near these intersections will help
with the safety of the pedestrians crossing to SGS. Jorgenson/Howard made a motion to
approve the removal of parking from one side of 32nd Ave near the intersections of
“Daktronics Drive” and “Old Daktronics Drive.” All present voted aye. Motion passed.
Member Reports:
Lanning reported to the committee that they will need to discuss the parking on Rio Grand and
Cumberland Road next month. She also informed the committee of the “Engage Brookings”
website that was recently rolled out by the City of Brookings. She encouraged members to
check the new website, but to also be aware that citizen issues may be future discussion items
for the Traffic Safety Committee. One item that has come through “Engage Brookings” is a
request for no parking on 13th Avenue and 14th Avenues north of 6th Street. Lanning asked if the
committee wanted this on a future agenda. Howard would like the committee to discuss the
issue. Englund said that he has heard there is a group of citizens that are interested in the
issue and he said they may be coming to the Traffic Safety Committee to discuss. Lanning said
she would put this item on the agenda and provide maps of the area to the committee.
Jorgenson did mention that he is a little concerned about the traffic light at the Middle School
causing back-up of traffic.
The next meeting will be December 1912, 2013. Meeting adjourned.
Submitted by: Lana Schwartz