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[Go To Best Hit] Story last updated at 1:43 p.m. Thursday, September 11, 2003

City drives for traffic, pedestrian improvements by Carey James

Staff Writer

With the passing of summer, the long lines of cars backed up at Lake Street and the Sterling Highway have diminished and walking across the street has become

less of a game of chance.

Though traffic woes in Homer may have diminished as the flood of tourists wanes, city administrators and council members have vowed not to let concerns, both

pedestrian and vehicular, lapse another year.

At recent council meetings, several councilmembers have expressed their frustration with the pace of the Department of Transportation, which is responsible for the Sterling Highway and Pioneer Avenue as well as many other state-owned

streets in Homer.

In turn, DOT says though it is studying traffic patterns in the area to facilitate improved pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the city needs to reach a consensus on

what it wants done in the area.

"We are still waiting on a definite answer from the council on what they want us to do," said Rex Young, area planner for the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak regions of

DOT. "We're required by law to coordinate with the city governments, and we quite often defer to their wishes."

Earlier this year, Young told the council the department was ready to place a stoplight at the corner of Lake Street and the Sterling Highway, an often-cited spot

for vehicle traffic congestion. The council, however, expressed concerns that putting a light at that one intersection would be a knee-jerk reaction to a larger

problem.

"We don't want to just throw up a light if it is at the wrong location," said Homer City Mayor Jack Cushing.

According to Homer Police, more accidents occur at the corner of the Sterling Highway and Heath Street than at the Lake Street intersection. In addition, the

council expressed concerns that putting in one light might cause more problems at other locations, and asked Young to do a traffic study of the area to determine what impact putting in the light would have. As a result, motorists spent another summer

squeezing themselves between the near-steady flow of traffic on the highway.

Though Young said the department did complete an updated survey of the traffic patterns in Homer this summer, and plans to use a computer model to further study the impacts of lights at various locations, such work is unlikely to affect the need for

a light at Lake Street and the Sterling Highway.

"Lights at different intersections will not affect the fact that this intersection needs

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one," Young said.

Some council members have asked for an analysis of area traffic concerns to include roundabouts, but others say such concepts would further delay badly

needed solutions.

Young said he expects traffic analysis to be completed this fall, which will likely be welcome news for council members who are anxious for action.

"It continues to surprise me how local government moves so slowly," said city Councilman Rick Ladd. "As a city we can't stand back and not act."

Ladd, as well as other council members, have responded recently to public concerns not only regarding vehicle congestion, but pedestrian traffic as well. A

group of citizens has been painting white stripes on several roads around town, its members saying they are frustrated by the apparent lack of focus on pedestrian

crosswalks in town.

Few would contest that Homer could use more crosswalks, but a past lawsuit against the city stemming from an accident that occurred in a Pioneer Avenue crosswalk has apparently left the city gun-shy of moving too quickly to put in

pedestrian crossings.

Concerns for children and other pedestrians dodging traffic on streets packed with fast-moving cars appears to be overwhelming such legal concerns, however.

At a recent council meeting, elected officials requested that city staff take matters into their own hands, to some extent, by studying traffic and applying for crosswalk

applications through DOT.

City engineer and Public Works Director Carey Meyer, who says he has experience with traffic studies, has been handed the responsibility of studying those areas, and

said he plans to complete the work this winter. Then, the city will apply for crosswalk permits from DOT just like a private developer would.

Meyer said some locations, such as the three-way stop at Pioneer Avenue, Lake Street and East End Road, would take little more than a painted white line to make it into an appropriate crosswalk. Others, like crossings on the Sterling Highway, might require flashing lights or even a pedestrian-activated stoplight. In addition,

Meyer said signs and an education effort about the pedestrian right-of-way might be in order.

Young said he encourages the city in taking such a proactive stance in traffic control. He said the department is also studying pedestrian traffic in Homer, and

plans to present some ideas, such as islands in the center of the Sterling Highway at crossing locations, in the near future.

Ladd, who wrote a memorandum concerning pedestrian crossings and sidewalks that will be presented at the next council meeting, said he's not sure the town's

pedestrians can wait for either DOT or the city study.

Citing a 2001 Homer Area Transportation Plan, Ladd said the town already knows crosswalks are warranted and needs to take action on the issue.

"Bureaucracy moves like a tortoise," he said. "We have children crossing the roads right now who are in harm's way, dodging and weaving through traffic. I don't think

we have time to wait for a study."

Ladd said he'd rather put in a crosswalk now, despite the potential liability, than wait for a child to get hurt because there wasn't any crosswalk in place.

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"Safety in Homer has waited. We need to walk a different path, because obviously the path we have chosen hasn't gotten any results," he said.

Cushing said that working closely with DOT would produce the desired results, as it has in past projects on area state roads. He said it was helpful, however, that

citizens have started expressing their concerns as it would likely help motivate both the council and the department.

Young said he had no comments regarding the citizen's recent crosswalk-painting initiative.

Meyer said with all the projects DOT has on its plate, it is not surprising that effort is required to draw the department's attention to Homer's traffic woes.

"It's not unusual for small communities to not get the service from DOT that they want," Meyer said. "We all have limited staffing and can only do so much."

He said that the city needs to look not only at traffic signals and crosswalks, but more long-term solutions such as creating new roads that divert traffic from the highway and Pioneer Avenue. In the short-term, however, he said the council

should make sure it is sending DOT a clear message.

"I think DOT would like to have a consensus of opinion and support from the council on a final solution," Meyer said. "There are times where DOT was ready to do

something and the council had questions and other times, the council was ready and DOT had questions. Maybe we could all get together on this."

The city and DOT are scheduled to meet Friday, though Young said the department plans to discuss upcoming projects in the Homer area, and changes to the state priorities and funding lists, rather than traffic signals and pedestrian crosswalks.

Scott Thomas, regional traffic engineer for the central DOT region, who is heading up a study of pedestrian traffic in the Homer area, did not return phone calls

by�press time.

Carey James can be reached at news@homernews.com.

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Sterling Highway MP 45-60 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS)

Spring 2003 Project Update

Cooper Landing Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Drop in between 1 p.m. & 7 p.m. Kenai Princess Lodge Conference Rm

Bean Creek Road

Anchorage Thursday, May 22, 2003

Drop in between 4 p.m. & 8 p.m. DOT&PF Conference Room

4111 Aviation Drive

For more information, visit the website: www.sterlinghighway.net, or contact us:

Mark Dalton, HDR Alaska, Inc. at (907) 274-2000; mdalton@hdrinc.com Jamie Damon, Public Involvement Consultant at (503) 235-5881; jdamon@jlainvolve.com

Miriam Tanaka, DOT&PF at (907) 269-0546; miriam_tanaka@dot.state.ak.us

Reasonable Alternatives Evaluation Nears Completion Your review and input is needed

After extensive work and review by the Federal Highway Administration, the draft Reasonable Alternatives Evaluation has been posted on the website. This document is not yet final. To review the draft, visit the website at www.sterlinghighway.net. Please attend the upcoming meetings. Project team staff will be available to talk with you about the technical analysis, answer questions, and record your input.

News For Immediate Release Date: March 28, 2002 For More Information Contact: Project Manager Miriam Tanaka, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (907) 269-0546, or Mark Dalton, HDR Alaska, Inc. Project Team Manager (907) 274-2000 PARTICIPATE IN AN ON-LINE SURVEY - DOT&PF SEEKS INPUT ON ALTERNATIVES FOR THE STERLING HIGHWAY THROUGH COOPER LANDING The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) wants your input on nine alternatives intended to resolve transportation issues along the Sterling Highway through Cooper Landing. “The purpose is to serve through-traffic, local community traffic, and traffic bound for recreation destinations in the area efficiently and safely, now and in the future,” explained Miriam Tanaka, Project Manager with DOT&PF. Log on to the project website for details on the alternatives and on the process-to-date www.sterlinghighway.net. The nine alternatives have been developed from 16 meetings over the past year with agencies, community members, and interest group stakeholders as a part of developing a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS.) The purpose of the SDEIS is to analyze and evaluate a range of alternatives to address traffic flow, seasonal congestion, local access issues, and roadway deficiencies between milepost 45 and 60 on the Sterling Highway. The SDEIS process will continue into the early part of 2003, with a draft document available for review and public comment in the fall of 2002. The process is currently at the point of evaluating the full range of alternatives using evaluation criteria developed with participant input over the past year. An online survey has been created to encourage public input on the alternatives. The survey can be accessed by logging on to the project website www.sterlinghighway.net. The results of the survey will help the DOT&PF narrow the range of alternatives to those that merit consideration in the draft supplemental EIS. The survey will be available until April 14, 2002 and can also be accessed at local library’s computers or at the Kenai River Center, Funny River Rd., Soldotna. For More Information Contact: Project Manager Miriam Tanaka, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (907) 269-0546, or Mark Dalton, HDR Alaska, Inc. Project Team Manager (907) 274-2000 END

News For Immediate Release For More Information Contact: Project Manager Miriam Tanaka, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (907) 269-0546, or Mark Dalton, HDR Alaska, Inc. Project Team Manager (907) 274-2000 If You Drive on the Sterling Highway, We Want to Hear From You! The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) will be conducting three Listening Posts to hear from travelers on the Sterling Highway regarding the proposed highway project between milepost 45 – 60. The Listening Posts are scheduled for: Monday August 20, 2001 from 4pm – 7pm in Anchorage at the DOT&PF main conference

room, 4111 Aviation Drive. Tuesday August 21, 2001 from 11am – 3pm in Soldotna at the Visitors Center, 44790

Sterling Highway. Wednesday August 22, 2001 from 11am – 3pm in Cooper Landing at the Boat Launch at the

Kenai Lake bridge. The purpose of the Listening Posts is to hear from seasonal travelers about their concerns regarding the highway. “The congestion problems along the highway are at their peak in the summer months,” stated Miriam Tanaka, Project Manager for DOT&PF “the Listening Posts are an opportunity for us to hear from some seasonal users of the highway as well as the local communities .” The DOT&PF has recently begun a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the Sterling Highway MP 45 –60 which will continue through 2002. Mark Dalton, the Project Team Manager from HDR Alaska, Inc, the engineering consulting firm hired for the process explains “the purpose of the SDEIS is to develop, analyze and evaluate a range of alternatives for the section of highway that parallels the Kenai River through the community of Cooper Landing.” Dalton, an Environmental Planner emphasized that ”we are still early in the process, preliminary alternatives under discussion at this time include realigning the existing highway, bypassing the community of Cooper Landing, and a “no action” alternative.” The Listening Posts will feature informational displays including maps, issues identified-to-date and process steps and schedule. Project staff will be available for questions. A series of similar meetings was held at the end of March targeted to local and regional stakeholders. For more information contact the project website at sterlinghighway.net.

END