By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Decatur officials are looking at pedestrian and motor vehicle improvements to be made around the city, mainly to promote safety.
Some are major projects, some minor, and several were touched upon by the board of works and safety at its January 2 meeting.
One of the major projects would involve improvements between the S. 13th St. intersections with Bollman St. and Winchester St. Extended.
The former received major improvements last year via a signalization project through a partnership with Decatur and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). One key aspect was the addition of new sidewalks.
During the discussion with the board of works, city Operations Manager Jeremy Gilbert also talked about three “hotspots” which local officials are looking at.
One is the intersection of 28th St. and W. Monroe St., near the Thunderbird Products plant.
“This one has been a hot spot for probably 25 years,” Gilbert told the board, noting that there have been several traffic fatalities there. Some traffic studies of the area have been done, but have provided little relief.
Gilbert suggested having an INDOT Roadway Safety study done.
INDOT says a local road safety plan (LRSP) provides a framework for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing roadway safety improvements on local roads. The LRSP development process and content are tailored to local issues and needs.
Questioned about possible visibility issues at the intersection, Gilbert said he believes it isn’t a visibility problem as much as driver error.
“There’s a lot of things going on out there,” Gilbert said. “One fatality is too many and we’ve had several there over the last 25 or so years.”
Two other “hotspots” he mentioned were the intersection of 11th and Elm streets, and the intersection of Second and Jackson streets.
No decisions were made at the meeting, but local officials will continue looking at traffic safety “needs” throughout the city.