A recent traffic report conducted by the Santa Maria Public Works Department revealed what many Santa Marians already knew: The intersection at North Depot and West Fesler streets is congested and dangerous.
The traffic study was done as part of an environmental impact report (EIR) that was completed when plans were made to develop a piece of property on Depot Street, according to Public Works Department Senior Civil Engineer Eric Riddiough. Although the development was postponed, Riddiough said the city discovered some worrisome information.
“In part of the study we looked at accident history and we found that quite a number of accidents are affiliated with this intersection,” Riddiough told the Sun.
North-south motorist traffic on Depot Street reaches high volumes, Riddiough said, and because of its various stop signs, traffic often builds all the way to Main Street during rush hours. Riddiough said this, and the intersection’s lack of medians and bike lanes, could be to blame for the unusual number of accidents in the area.
The city, Riddiough said, made the project a priority, and the intersection is currently undergoing several structural changes as part of the city’s Intersection Improvement Project, which aims to improve overall safety and traffic flow to the intersection.
In an effort to guide and slow traffic, median islands will be added to both North Depot and West Fesler streets, according to a city press release, along with a pedestrian island that will improve safety for people on foot.
Bike lanes will also be added to both streets, and the stop sign on Depot will be moved to Fesler to accommodate the heavier traffic on Depot, Riddiough said. There will also be other additions to the area, including a dedicated signal for motorists on Depot turning left onto Main.
The project is expected to cost between $400,000 and $500,000, according to Riddiough, and about $200,000 of that will be reimbursed to the city by a federal Highway Safety Improvement Program grant. Gas tax revenues, according to the press release, will fund the rest.
The project is expected to be finished and the streets will be fully opened by September. Until then, Riddiough said Santa Marians should expect partial closures, detours, and temporary stops at the intersection, although it won’t be fully closed to traffic.
“The main thing that we want to convey to the public is to be careful and because of the new changes, people need to proceed with caution,” Riddiough said. “Motorists tend to speed through that intersection and what we’ll do is hopefully reduce speed of traffic and provide better accessibility for bikers and pedestrians.”
This article appears in Aug 3-10, 2017.
