Busy crosswalk in Scott City poses hazards

~ MoDOT engineer says 35 mph is safe speed limit for section of Route K.

Joe Bles wants someone to take action.

For years Bles, the commander of Scott City's VFW, has fretted over the crosswalks in front of the VFW at 1408 Main St. People going into the building have to park across the city's Main Street, a common path for passenger vehicles and large trucks, and cross that busy thoroughfare to get to the building.

Pedestrians used the crosswalk to reach the VFW building in Scott City from the parking lot on Saturday. (Fred Lynch)

Many of them are elderly, and they don't move very fast. But the speed limit is 35 mph, with a blind curve on the approach from the east. Bles has timed how long it takes cars to reach the VFW door, where the painted crosswalk is, from the curve. It takes five seconds. In Bles' estimation, that's too short a time.

"If there's an old person in a crosswalk it just doesn't give them much time to get across before the car gets there," Bles said.

One person has already been killed there, in 1993, and Bles wants to avoid a repeat of that scenario.

He has approached the city and the state government about doing something to improve safety, like a 25 mph speed limit or a stop sign. He said he gets the run-around from both.

"One says they're going to do this, one says they're going to do that, and nothing gets done," Bles said.

Main Street, also known as Route K, runs through the city limits but is a state-maintained road. MoDOT has jurisdiction over putting up signs and striping the street, as well as determining what is a safe speed.

Whether the speed limit is a problem is up for debate. Kelly Green, a senior traffic engineer for MoDOT, said the state has studied traffic at the crosswalk and has determined that 35 mph is indeed a safe speed. Green did say that MoDOT would be willing to update it's traffic study, though, to see if the situation has changed, and work with city leaders to improve safety.

But the speed limit is a problem on the city's radar. Mayor Tim Porch said city government is concerned about safety at the crosswalk and is currently pursuing ways to make the area safer for pedestrians.

"There's a need for some kind of warning device or some kind of solution to having another fatality," said Porch.

Large, yellow pedestrian crossing signs are up at the crosswalks, and MoDOT recently added a cautionary speed of 25 mph to those signs. But Porch said many motorists, himself included, didn't notice the signs for a long time or still haven't noticed them.

The speed on those signs is purely cautionary, said Scott City police chief Don Cobb. His department can't write tickets for people going over 25 mph in the crosswalks, since the actual speed limit is 35, but could write tickets for motorists who don't yield to pedestrians, Cobb said.

Porch said a few options are being explored, like lowering the speed limit to 25 mph, putting in a stop sign or adding a flashing yellow light to the pedestrian crossing signs.

Scott City has approached MoDOT about installing flashing lights, but under standard MoDOT procedure, the city would pay for the lights and the state would maintain them. The lights would cost about $8,000 to $9,000 -- more than the city can afford, Porch said.

Lowering the speed limit is a more viable option, since the blind curve could cause accidents with a stop sign, Porch said.

Cobb said he thinks the best option would be a 25 mph zone. But any speed zone changes would have to be approved by the state.

Meanwhile Bles waits for something to be done, and crosses his fingers, hoping another pedestrian doesn't die.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182