Council green-lights neighborhood outreach on Herriman Rose crossing redesign after safety debate

Herriman — City staff presented a proposed redesign of the Herriman Rose/Main Street crossing that would move the pedestrian crossing, create a refuge island with railings, and eliminate some left-turn movements; the council agreed to conduct neighborhood outreach after the new year to gather feedback before deciding whether to proceed with construction.

Bryce (staff) said UDOT has awarded funding for the project but clarified the city must include the crossing as part of the Safe Route to School network if it accepts the funds. Staff reported counts showing roughly 70 student crossings per school day at the existing crosswalk (figure excludes parents), and noted many students do not use the existing signalized crossing.

The proposed design would funnel pedestrians to a pedestrian refuge island, improve sight lines, and remove conflicting left-turn movements at the intersection; staff acknowledged the trade-off that the traffic signal remains the objectively safest crossing but observed that children who ignore the signal create immediate risk at the current location. Several councilmembers raised concerns about neighborhood traffic displacement, potential U-turns, and whether residents and drivers would use the redesigned crossing.

Operationally, the redesign would require reallocating or adding crossing guards; staff said one guard could be moved from a nearby crossing and an additional guard added. Councilmembers advised careful messaging at neighborhood meetings to avoid creating expectations about traffic changes beyond what funding allows. Council authorized staff to schedule public meetings after the holidays, present the design neutrally, gather resident input and return with recommendations; there was no formal construction authorization at the meeting.