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Waite Park resident urges council to act on speeding, unsafe crossings on 13th Avenue
Summary
At a Waite Park council meeting, Marion Schlegel urged the city to address speeding and parking hazards on 13th Avenue, citing drivers "rolling" through a stop sign, unsafe school-bus stops, and faded hydrant markings. City staff and an agency official said they will pursue repainting the hydrant, continue enforcement and re-request county changes while deploying a portable speed reader.
Marion Schlegel told the Waite Park council during public comment that neighbors are "sick and tired" of speeding on 13th Avenue and urged officials to take steps to protect pedestrians and drivers.
Schlegel, who identified herself as a longtime Waite Park resident, said drivers use 13th Avenue as a shortcut from a nearby stoplight, "go like hell to try to beat the people that are churning at that light," and sometimes roll through the stop sign by the Moose parking lot. She also described school buses picking up and dropping off near the senior center and requested the city repaint the curb in front of her home around a fire hydrant so people stop parking there.
The comment matters because the stretch of 13th Avenue sits near a park, a senior center, the Moose event venue and the portion of the city where a police presence is planned. An agency official and a council member told Schlegel the city would seek practical remedies rather than relying solely on more posted 30 mph signs — noting state statute establishes an unposted local speed maximum — and said staff will work to repaint the hydrant and pursue other measures.
"We will get you — we'll paint that hydrant out in front of your house," a council member said in response, acknowledging it had been a slow process to restore curb paint citywide. An agency official said parking enforcement has been active: "We wrote tickets on that block, January 1, January 3, January 5, January 8, January 9, January 12, January 10, January 12, January 17," and added officers have run multiple enforcement sessions but made only two or three speed stops during those deployments.
City staff said the county previously refused a request to change the left-turn signal configuration that residents said would reduce shortcutting, but they will ask the county again. Staff also said the city has money in the budget for a portable speed reader or message board to gather time-of-day speed and volume data and that deploying that device will help target enforcement.
Schlegel thanked officers for their presence in the neighborhood and urged continued follow-up. City officials said they will continue to explore enforcement, signage alternatives and renewed county requests; no formal policy or ordinance change was proposed during the meeting.
The council moved on from public comment to routine business after the exchange; staff said they would follow up with residents and county staff about possible roadway changes.
