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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEMAIL 4 - 18-00701 & 18-00711 - 547 E 7th N - Rezone to MDR2From: David Bell [mailto:david@bellblack.com] Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2019 5:12 PM To: Deborah Lovejoy Subject: Letter for city council meeting 1/17/2019 Hi Deborah, I would like this letter read in city council today if possible. It pertains to the intersection of 2nd east and 7th north. I am on the traffic safety committee. Thank you. David Bell My name is David Bell. I am a life resident of Rexburg and own Bell Black Insurance in Rexburg. In the course of my business I see many traffic accidents, usually caused by inattention of drivers but at times caused by physical circumstances such as the layout of an intersection and traffic flow into such. I am writing today because I am concerned about the safety of the intersection of 2nd East and 7th North. My son was a passenger in an accident at that intersection last week.  He was not hurt, but the next person may be. With the opening of the new Walmart store, traffic has increased substantially in that intersection both North and South bound making it more difficult than it already was to turn left from 7th North onto 2nd East going South into town. In addition to the increased traffic flowing North and South through the intersection, several other factors were already affecting the safety of the intersection now have become intensified. Some of the contributing factors are: a large number of employees at Basic American turn left to get to work blocking the intersection if there happens to be space; the light to the North never stops traffic coming from the North as they are either coming through a green light on 2nd East or merging with a green light from the State Highway; the gas station on the corner often has unpredictable traffic merging as well.  You can wait for an opportunity for a long time. In my experience, the longer you wait at an intersection the more risk you take to get through it.  The area that uses 7th North as an access to 2nd East already has a large number of residents and is growing as we speak. There are over 80 occupied homes on 7th North and in the Stonebridge sub-division with more to come in phase 2, several businesses and the Carlow apartment complex. By the end of this year there may be over 100 residential units on 7th North. The area is also set to grow with phase 2 of Stonebridge and two large parcels marketed toward development. Currently, if there are 1.5 cars per household, I estimate there would be over 350 west-bound to south-bound merges per day in the intersection in question. These residents are left with few other options. Using Moody Road is not practical as it is ten minutes out of the way and  you would be merging with high-speed traffic on the state highway or crossing the same. There really is not a practical and safe option to turn right (North) and then have a place to turn around to go south again not to mention the difficulty in even turning North. Cutting through the parking lot of Big 5 and the other businesses to get to Lorene St only removes a couple of risk factors while adding others such as through traffic in a parking lot. Something needs to change in the intersection. I know there are many factors that I may not be aware of but I would strongly suggest that the Traffic and Safety Committee and Rexburg City Council consider putting a stoplight at this intersection for reasons of both safety and improved traffic flow. Such a light should be able to be timed to allow traffic to flow on second East while giving the opportunity to merge from the state highway and 7th North.  The light at Mountain River may no longer be necessary depending on what goes into the old Walmart location. The light on Teton River Dr would likely be able to handle the parking lot for most things that would come in. I understand that part of 2nd East is a state highway, but it is our city. I feel that for the safety of our residents we should be clear with the state that this needs to change soon.  In 2016 the traffic safety committee suggested the city ask the state to do a study. I use the intersection several times a day and have never seen a study happening. Thank you for your service to our fine community. Only by working together can we make our community great. David Bell