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Resident warns supervisors of repeated high-speed traffic, safety risks on Thirteenth Street and 200 Eleventh Avenue
Summary
A Jackson County resident told the Board of Supervisors three near-miss incidents in under a week on Thirteenth Street, 250 First Avenue and 200 Eleventh Avenue and asked for increased enforcement and a county/city review of road controls.
Don Swanker, chair of the Jackson County Board of Supervisors, heard public comment Tuesday from resident Neil Engel, who described three separate traffic incidents over the previous week on Thirteenth Street, 250 First Avenue and 200 Eleventh Avenue and urged action to reduce the risk of injury.
Engel said he contacted all three county supervisors and the sheriff’s office before appearing at the meeting. He described encountering high-speed vehicles on narrow local roads while operating farm equipment and a pickup, including a semi that “came off of the highway there heading east” toward his loader and a light-blue full-size pickup that fishtailed past his vehicle at night. “That’s 3 incidents in less than a week with just me,” Engel said. “Somebody’s really gonna get hurt or killed.”
The board and staff discussed the location’s mix of jurisdiction and potential responses. Swanker noted that ownership of part of the roadway “sits right back there with the city,” and suggested a joint review with city officials and public works staff. Supervisors and staff raised enforcement and engineering options: increased patrols, signage, possible weight or embargo restrictions, and not immediately paving the gravel roadway because doing so might encourage faster speeds.
Jaden from public works (referenced by the board to follow up) was directed to consult with sheriff’s deputies and city counterparts about patrols and potential short-term measures; Swanker said he would have Jaden talk with public works. Board members also mentioned that Google Maps routing appears to be increasing cut-through truck traffic from the highway to businesses such as the area Walmart and QuickStart.
There was no formal vote or directive to adopt a specific engineering change at Tuesday’s meeting. The board indicated it would coordinate with the city and the sheriff’s office to evaluate enforcement and potential traffic-calming measures and report back. Engel expressed appreciation that county and sheriff personnel had responded to his earlier calls and asked the board to accelerate action.
The board noted the limits of county authority over any portion the city owns and emphasized enforcement and intergovernmental coordination as immediate next steps.
