09-11-2000 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

CO(JNCIL MEETING REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION SEP 1 1 2000 DATE: SepSmter'MJ ITEM NO.:1 Department Approval: Name Gregory A. Gappa Title Director of Public Services Administrator Reviewed: Agenda Section: Public Services's Directors Report Item Description: School Zone Traffic Control for Old Crystal Bay Road r The opening of the new middle school, directly across the street from the high school, and the changing of the high school start time has resulted in traffic congestion, during peak times. The high school now starts at 7:50 a.m., and the middle school starts at 8:00 a m. This time change was made to allow for both the high school and middle students to ride on the same bus. The buses unload students at the high school first then cross old Crystal Bay Road to unload students at the middle school. The school bus traffic, combined with the large number of students being dropped off by parents at school, resulted in major traffic congestion and gridlock conditions on the first several days of school. This resulted in two hazardous situations with pedestrians crossing Old Crystal Bay Road and southbound traffic on Old Crystal Bay Road backing up onto County Road 6. The traffic backup on the county road was extremely hazardous because of the high speed traffic on this highway. We have experimented with several different solutions to this problem and have developed a traffic control system that appears to be acceptable. This solution requires a 4-way stop sign at the new south middle/high school driveway and crosswalk. Without this stop sign, vehicles have a difficult time entering and exiting the parking lots and when the parking lot backups extend onto Old Crystal Bay the whole system becomes gridlocked. With the 4-way stop sign, the drivers are forced to stop and take turns passing through this intersection area. This kept all of the vehicles moving at slow steady speed and kept the traffic backups confined to Old Crystal Bay Road and off of County Road 6. The stop signs also provide safer conditions for the pedestrians in the crosswalk. Basically, the plan is to have the middle school vehicles use the south entrance for both entering and exiting the parking lot and to circulate in a counter clockwise direction through the parking lot. This provides room for traffic queuing in the parking lot at the driveway exit slop sign and limits conflicts with the buses at the north driveway. The high school parking lot circulation is to enter at the north driveway and exit at the south driveway. This plan will require monitoring the north bus entrance driveway and periodically directing traffic to facilitate school bus movements. This monitor can also restrict pedestrian crossings at this driveway. This driveway monitoring should be the responsibility of the school district.