ACHD's Road Wizard
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Reports of speeding at a request for more construction speed limit signs at State Street/Veterans Memorial Parkway/36th Street; obscured "Do No Enter" sign at unusual one-way grid on Freemont Street at Marcus Street; stop signs, base and poles removed by persons unknown on Warren Street at Michigan and Manitou avenues.
The Road Wizard Replies
Dear Road Wizard: Can you please put up more 25 mph signs on State Street near the State Street/Veterans Memorial Parkway/36th Street intersection construction area? Right now, there is only one in each direction on State and when there is no stop-and-go traffic, I would say that 99 percent of the vehicles are speeding. I am tired of being tailgated and cut off, not to mention the safety risk these other drivers are causing by not slowing down in the construction zone. Why is Boise Police not out patrolling that area? They could write enough tickets to pay for the project with the fines.
Jeff
Road Wizard:
It is time for a sign tally. There are four "speed limit reduced ahead" signs, one for each intersection approach. There are eight "speed limit 25 mph" signs. Four serve traffic approaching the intersection, with one for each direction. The other four are placed just beyond the intersection to remind outgoing drivers that they remain in a construction speed-limit zone.
As it is, the construction area for the ThrU-Turn intersection is approaching "sign overload." When that happens, people start disrespecting signs which can lead to additional complacency. Instead of adding more signs, ACHD is working with police to increase speed limit enforcement at the intersection.
Dear Road Wizard: I am concerned about the lack of visibility of the "Do Not Enter" sign located on Freemont Street at Marcus Street. The sign is making it impossible for motorists to know that they are entering a one-way grid. Tree pruning or sign relocation may resolve the issue.
Rich
Road Wizard:
This is an unusual little one-way network, so a visible sign is important. ACHD sent a letter to the owners of the view-blocking landscaping, advising them that property owners are responsible to keep roadway signs clear of vegetation. The owner took care of it and the sign is now in plain view.
But why is Freemont a one-way street? It is an older residential road and wide enough for one lane in each direction.
Back in the mid-1990s the Emerald Street and Curtis Road intersection was congested and people would use Freemont as a cut-through route to avoid delays.
Usually speed bumps/humps are installed to reduce cut-through travel, but in this case, changing Freemont to a one-way road achieved the same goal. The travel direction was simply put in the opposite direction of where non-residential motorists wanted to go.
This is not a standard practice and it would not work very well in most neighborhoods. But it was effective here as a one-way, go-away solution.
Dear Road Wizard: There are stop signs missing on the northwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Warren Street and also the southwest corner of Warren Street and Manitou Avenue. Not sure where they went, but I saw a few near-misses over the weekend with no stop signs.
Robyn
Road Wizard:
Perhaps an uncontrolled-intersection activist is responsible? At Michigan and Warren, not only were the signs gone -- the sign poles and bases were pulled right from the ground and taken as well. ACHD replaced them promptly after I forwarded Robyn's letter.
Residents can get faster missing-sign service by calling ACHD at 208-387-6190. Ada County Sheriff's Office dispatchers will take reports after hours at 208-377-6790.
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