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Resident Sarah Fine Walsh urges stop sign, speed-calming at Surf and Odin after near-collision
Summary
At the June 11 public safety advisory board meeting, resident Sarah Fine Walsh urged officials to add a three-way stop or other calming measures at Surf Street and Odin Street after a near-collision; the board voted to solicit public comment on reducing the speed limit and to increase police patrols.
Sarah Fine Walsh, a resident who submitted a written request to the board, told the Petersburg Borough Public Safety Advisory Board on June 11 she narrowly avoided a collision with a large pickup turning quickly onto Odin Street and asked the board to consider converting the intersection at Surf Street into a three‑way stop or otherwise slow turning traffic.
"I'm a mother of a toddler who's very, very fast," Walsh said, describing the downhill grade toward Surf Street and saying vehicles often enter Odin at speed. She asked the board to consider a three‑way stop, speed‑limit signage or other measures "to get people to enter Odin Street a little more slowly."
Chief Kerr responded that stop signs on the downhill (Surf Street) can create winter hazards because vehicles may not be able to restart on an incline, and that is the primary reason the intersection is currently a two‑way stop. He said extra patrols and targeted enforcement historically reduced stop‑sign violations elsewhere and offered to increase police presence near the crossing.
Board members discussed alternatives including pedestrian‑warning signage and a reduced speed limit for the Severson neighborhood. One member proposed formally opening a public‑comment period on a potential speed‑limit change so residents could offer input; another member seconded. The motion passed with no recorded opposition.
The board agreed that in the near term the police would step up patrols in the neighborhood and that staff would publish a public‑safety announcement soliciting public comment if the borough pursues a speed‑limit reduction. The meeting record does not identify the member who moved and the member who seconded the motion.
The advisory board did not adopt a new traffic ordinance at the meeting; next steps are an outreach period for comment and administrative follow‑up to determine whether a formal speed‑limit change should proceed to the assembly.
