Friday, June 29, 2007

Cul-de-sac for Edelweiss traffic woes?

Ketchum City Council wants it over


By EXPRESS STAFF
Express Staff Writer

A temporary gravel cul-de-sac is one solution under examination by the Ketchum City Council to help end three years of traffic woes on Edelweiss Street near the southwest corner of town.

Weary residents, council members and a seemingly frustrated police chief kicked around problems and possible solutions for the short, curvy street in West Ketchum. Many say the problems stem from when the street started being used as a priority route to the post office after the post office was built in 2001 at Fourth Street and Second Avenue. Edelweiss doglegs right into Fourth Street just a short chip shot from the post office.

A cul-de-sac would convert Edelweiss into a dead-end street. Councilman Ron Parsons wondered about the costs for a cul-de-sac, doubting whether it was possible to include it in the current budget.

If it was installed it would make sense to put it in at the same time construction is going on in July for a water line project, said City Administrator Ron LeBlanc.

The discussions took place as part of a public hearing at a special meeting of the council on Tuesday, June 26. Because the hearing was not advertised properly there was insufficient legal notice and a future hearing will be held.

"It's a volume problem," said Ketchum Police Chief Cory Lyman.

He said the number of cars using Edelweiss was a "misuse of a residential street," which was not meant to special deliver people to the post office.

A traffic study of the area began Wednesday. Lyman said there were anecdotal reports of speeding on the street but that it had not proved to be dangerous. His department should have information from this latest study in about one week.

Residents complained of people running stops possibly because they are hard to see at the odd--shaped intersection.

"No one stops at it ... You can't see it coming round the corner," said Edelweiss resident Barry Peterson. "It's a mess."

Where Edelweiss and Fourth Street meet, three bike paths also come together. Signs going west on Fourth towards Edelweiss include a stop sign, a sign beneath saying the speed limit is 15 mph and one below that saying, "slow, children at play."

The council is expected to reconsider the issue at its July 16 meeting.




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