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Parishioners urge keeping Columbia-Lagonda signal; city explains phased removal process
Summary
Parishioners and volunteers asked the commission to retain a traffic signal near St. Bernard's, citing visibility and safety concerns; the city's service director said signals undergo a 90-day flash followed by a 60-day stop-sign period and that the intersection had reached the study stage with signage and traffic counts recorded.
A parish volunteer and frequent neighborhood observer urged the commission to halt plans to remove the traffic signal at Columbia and Lagonda Avenue, saying sight-line problems and heavy truck traffic make the intersection hazardous for churchgoers and children.
"You cannot see the traffic coming from Main Street," Diah Wolford told the commission, describing squealing tires and near-collisions when drivers pull out from the stop sign.
Service Director Chris Moore explained the state's and city's stepwise process for assessing signals: signals are put on flash for 90 days, then bagged and replaced temporarily by stop signs for 60 days while staff monitor crashes and traffic patterns. Moore said the city had reached the 60-day stop-sign stage and was waiting on final signage and pavement-marking changes before permanent removal. He cited peak approach volumes during the 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. study window: roughly 1,700 cars at the stop-leg peak, about 5,000 from the east approach and about 3,000 from the other main approach, and said the volumes lean toward placing the stop at the minor leg.
Moore also said the city is considering additional measures such as flashing stop signs and clarified that pavement-marking changes cannot be made until the signal is removed per the state process. No final removal was executed at the meeting; staff asked for patience while signage and striping are finalized and offered to continue outreach with the neighborhood.
