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Evansville approves lane reconfiguration, new signage and pedestrian crossings on three corridors
Summary
The safety board approved converting North Bakke from four lanes to three with a two-way left-turn lane, updated signage and pavement markings on Petersburg Road, and pedestrian crossings on North Green River Road at three cross streets under an NDOT grant.
The City of Evansville Board of Public Safety on March 26 approved several engineering changes intended to improve safety and pedestrian access on Petersburg Road, North Bakke and North Green River Road.
Jennifer Blankenship, city engineer, asked the board to approve signage and pavement-marking updates on Petersburg Road at Greendale Drive, including replacing curve signs and updating pavement markings and tree clearance in the right-of-way. She said the advisory speed through the curve is 20 miles per hour and a turn sign would better match that advisory speed.
The board also approved a lane reconfiguration on North Bakke from a four-lane to a three-lane cross-section — two through lanes plus a two-way left-turn lane — from Virginia Street to Morgan Avenue. Assistant City Engineer Chris Weil said the average daily traffic on Bakke is about 9,200 vehicles per day, “which is comfortably less than the maximum to be carried on a 3 lane section of 12,000 vehicles per day.” He told the board the conversion will retain through-lane widths, add a paved shoulder and include a raised median adjacent to the pedestrian crossing at the park entrance to reduce passing near the crossing.
Finally, the board approved adding pedestrian crossings on North Green River Road at Theater Drive, Sugar Mill Creek and Spring Valley Road as part of a Community Crossings grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation (NDOT). City staff said the project will include striping, actual marked crosswalks and pedestrian signals integrated into traffic-signal timing; at Sugar Mill Creek staff also proposed adding a northbound left-turn arrow and signal timing to accommodate pedestrian phases. Engineering said these crossings will help connect nearby apartment complexes to a grocery store and bus stops.
Why it matters: City staff framed the measures as safety and mobility improvements that respond to traffic volumes and nearby housing concentrations. Board members noted potholes and existing pavement quality will be addressed through coordinated mill-and-overlay resurfacing prior to applying new pavement markings.
Ending: The board approved the design and signage updates and directed staff to proceed with implementation as part of planned resurfacing and the NDOT grant-funded work; specific construction timelines were not provided during the meeting.
