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UDOT, city plan temporary bulb-outs and lower downtown speed limits to improve pedestrian safety
Summary
UDOT will install temporary bulb-outs along Main Street at First North and Center Street this March; the city is proposing lower speed limits downtown (20 mph and 15 mph in high-pedestrian/median-parking areas) and will collect traffic counts to inform final changes.
State and city transportation staff told the Moab City Council on Feb. 25 they will install temporary pedestrian safety improvements on Main Street and pursue lower downtown speed limits to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
Michael (City Manager) summarized UDOT’s near-term work: temporary bulb-outs at the intersections of First North/Main Street and Center/Main Street, temporary rubber curbing the city can reuse elsewhere, and a reconfiguration of some parking and bus loading in front of the Moab Information Center (near 98 Center). Michael said the temporary changes should be installed within three to four weeks and that UDOT’s emphasis is on pedestrian crossings identified in a recent road safety audit.
“Bulb-outs let pedestrians get out a little bit farther…shortens the distance for pedestrians to have to walk across the street,” Michael said, describing the improvements at First North and Main.
Michael also said UDOT and city staff plan to coordinate improved bus-stop signage and wayfinding at the Moab Area Transit stop near the information center and that charter bus loading will be moved to reduce conflicts on Center Street.
City speed-limit adjustments: City transportation staff (Mark and Dedar) presented proposed changes to municipal speed limits for the downtown pedestrian core. They said Ordinance 2021-14 sets a prima facie 20 mph where no posted limit exists, and that engineering guidance in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) recommends a traffic study for speed changes. Pending that study, staff recommended lowering speeds where “immediate parking” exists to 15 mph and elsewhere in the core to 20 mph. Staff estimated a $5,000 cost to post new signs and make striping changes.
Staff will collect updated traffic counts and compare them with historical data before finalizing recommendations; staff also said the proposed adjustments are intended to shape a “slow-driving” downtown culture and support pedestrian activity.
Questions and context: Council members asked whether Fourth North should be included; staff said the current proposal focuses on the dispersed-parking area but Fourth North could be considered in future reconstruction planning. Councilors also discussed enforcement and outreach; staff said police are making enforcement contacts to alert drivers to new limits and that agencies that book charter buses will be notified of the loading changes.
Implementation timeline and next steps: temporary UDOT work expected in March; city to collect traffic data and make sign/striping changes pending study and street department scheduling.
