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Safe Streets Data Shows Mixed Results For Slowing Traffic

Carolyn Murray KPCW

 
 
Park City's neighborhood traffic management programs include the People First Streets Project, which uses inexpensive, temporary solutions like colorful paint to slow down traffic  and increase pedestrian safety.

Data shows the People First Streets project in Prospector has reduced vehicle speeds by one mile per hour since it began in June.

Park City Active Transportation Manager Austin Taylor said that’s less of an impact than they hoped for, but that every little bit helps in terms of reducing accidents.

The street painting project went in on Gold Dust Lane and Sidewinder Drive in the Prospector neighborhood. The corner includes a restaurant, businesses, a sports club, residential homes, and a daycare. It brought out a half dozen people to paint bold colors in several crosswalks. They also installed flower planters and ballasts to narrow the roadway.

Prospector resident Dana Perry lives at the three-way intersection of Gold Dust and Sidewinder. She said the area is not safer for pedestrians because of the project. She thinks speed humps are the answer for slowing cars.

"We need speed humps just flat out, and it's like, they don't even have the curb painted right there. You're supposed to park 30 feet back, come back here around five to six o'clock at night when Grubstake so Grubstake doesn't have a parking lot. So, everybody has to park on the streets here. And then they don't, have the bus stop painted. And they don't have a red curb in front of the stop sign. So, people park and block the stop sign and the bus stop right there, every night, every night, the bus has to stop in the middle road."

Taylor said the city would not approve speed humps because they impede emergency vehicle response. He added that data shows narrowing streets slows speeds.

Perry suggests the intersection could be transformed into a three-way stop, although she does not want a stop sign next to her front yard. She thinks the single stop sign is not adequate for reducing speeds.

Taylor’s report on the project shows 88% of in-person pedestrian feedback was positive, with people feeling safer walking through the crosswalks. However, online feedback indicated over 90% of respondents do not like the project, with most comments focused on the paint colors and materials used. The project cost the city about $1,800 in supplies.

Aspen Springs Homeowners Association President Beth Armstrong worked with nearly 80 homeowners to rally support for a similar crosswalk painting project to address pedestrian safety on Meadows Drive and SR 224. She said pedestrians, bikers, and skiers use the crosswalk year-round to access the McPolin Farm pathways and skier trails.

"It's a heavily used crosswalk. The average speed of people coming up that hill was 40 miles an hour, in a 25. And I thought somebody is going to get hurt because they're, they're turning in and just speeding up there. And there were just the two white lines, so really no real indication that it was a major crosswalk."

Over the period of March 22 to July 15, the data for Aspen Springs indicates 70% of vehicles entering the neighborhood at Meadows Drive are exceeding the 25 miles per hour zone. 13% exceed 35 miles per hour, and less than 1% exceed 45 miles per hour.

Since the community painted the crosswalk in July, data shows that just under half of vehicles exceeded 25 miles per hour.

The city budget for People Frist Streets is about $20,000 annually.

Taylor suggests residents engage with the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) for more permanent traffic calming efforts. Contact Austin Taylor at 435-615-5317 for more information.

For images and details of Park City Municipal People First Streets Report, click here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

KPCW reporter Carolyn Murray covers Summit and Wasatch County School Districts. She also reports on wildlife and environmental stories, along with breaking news. Carolyn has been in town since the mid ‘80s and raised two daughters in Park City.
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