SIDNEY — A direction island will be constructed on the north side of Wilkinson Avenue, which will prohibit southbound movements on that side of the road for making the intersection of state Route 47 safer, following Monday’s direction of Sidney City Council.
Plans for the Wilkinson Avenue and state Route 47 intersection was the last detail to finalize the design plans of the revised state Route 47 Improvement Project between Fourth Avenue and Walnut Avenue.
Gary Clough, assistant city manager, presented four different options for the intersection at Monday evening’s City Council meeting.
The first option presented was to close Wilkinson Avenue on the north side of state Route 47 so traffic cannot get onto state Route 47. Traffic from state Route 47 would not be able to turn onto the northbound Wilkinson Road.
The second option was a direction island on Wilkinson Avenue on the north side of state Route 47. This would stop any southbound movements from Wilkinson but would allow left and right turns onto Wilkinson from state Route 47.
A barrier to be placed on the southbound lane on Wilkinson was the third option. Traffic could still turn from state Route 47 onto Wilkinson, but there would be no access from Wilkinson to state Route 47.
The fourth option was to construct an island barrier in the middle of Wilkinson Avenue to prevent drivers from turning left onto state Route 47.
Of the four, Clough said only the first two would adequately deal with the sight distance problem. He didn’t recommend council to approve either option three or four.
Five members of council voted for option two. Council member Joe Ratermann voted for option three, and Council member Steve Wagner voted for option four.
Ratermann said if there was an extended median barrier across the entire intersection, based upon previous crash data, it would likely reduce the amount of crashes by more than half because it eliminates four of the six access points. But, Clough said it still would not deal with the sight distance problem for vehicles coming off of Wilkinson Avenue. Ratermann said option three could solve that problem if the southbound turn lane on the north side of Wilkinson Avenue was extended out an additional 6 feet. Clough said the curb lane of state Route 47 will not change. Also, the Wilkinson Avenue lanes would not be permitted to be extend further into the intersection on state Route 47.
Councilman Steve Wagner said he thinks option four is the best because it allows a left hand turn onto Wilkinson Avenue from state Route 47 and only a right turn if headed southbound on Wilkinson Avenue. He said he doesn’t want to shut off the Wilkinson Avenue completely and it put more traffic onto Railroad Street.
Mayor Mike Barhorst said he feels option two is best but what ever is decided upon can always be changed. He noted that the options presented are not as expensive as the previously proposed roundabout. He said if the owner of Railroad Street decides to eliminate the bridge structure and install an embankment, it wont be possible to get through Railroad Street.
Vice Mayor Mardie Milligan said she prefers option two because of the flexibility of allowing emergency vehicles to be able to access Wilkinson Avenue from state Route 47.
Barhorst said the city finally has direction and look forward to moving forward with the improvement project.
Barhorst also noted the Shelby County United Way thanked council, city staff and others for the recent help during their Day of Action at the office and both houses of Clear Creek Farms.
