Sheldon, Iowa — In recent weeks several Sheldon citizens have expressed concerns to the City of Sheldon about Highway 18 traffic running through red lights at the intersection with Washington Avenue.
Sheldon Public Works Director Todd Uhl talks about some of those concerns.
(As above) “But I’ve had some concerns shown that maybe the eastbound traffic can run into some issues because they crest the hill, and especially if they’re a heavy load and the light changes, can they get slowed down in time, or do they end up blowing that red light?”
Uhl talks about one citizen’s request as a possible solution to the problem.
(As above) “One of the requests was, ‘can you put like a countdown light or something like that up there, so that people could see that this thing is going to turn red in a matter of how many seconds?’ But instead of doing that right away, we talked with General Traffic, and they are able to adjust that camera to see further east and west and also track the traffic on Washington Avenue a little closer. So by having it look further east and west, the ide is to make the highway (traffic light) green as much as possible, yet allow side traffic to get on and off. So by looking further down the road, it should give vehicles on Highway 18 more time to stop, or react to the change of (the) light.”
He says another problem with the Washington Avenue intersection was Washington Avenue traffic turning right on a red light. That action would cause the east-west lights to change to red when there were no vehicle still approaching the intersection on Washington Avenue.
(As above) “So what we’ve done, it (the stoplight camera) still looks at that traffic on Washington. If somebody sits there for only a second or two and then is able to make their right turn and proceed along their way, the camera is now smart enough, or realizes, ‘hey, they’re gone’, and then therefore it doesn’t change the light. It’s not perfect, because if someone sits there for five-plus seconds and then is able to go, by that point if the highway allows it, it’s already tripped.”
Uhl says, in addition to the Washington Avenue stoplight, there are also stoplights at 18th Avenue and 6th Avenue. But, he says, Washington Avenue is, by far, the most problematic.
(As above) “Washington is the worst of our three stoplight intersections, just based on visibility…you know they’ve got the hill to the west there…I think that causes the most trouble. But, the traffic light at the intersection of 6th Avenue, by the park, that still has the sensors in the road and we want to switch that light over to a similar camera method, as Washington is. The stoplight at the intersection of 18th (Avenue), where the High School is, there we put new sensors in as part of the road diet…that was all changed, so I’m not AS concerned about getting that one switched, plus there’s pretty good visibility in both directions on that one.”
Uhl says the city is always working toward trying to get a stoplight at the intersection of Highway 18 and Runger Avenue, in extreme eastern Sheldon. He says he is in constant communication with the Iowa Department of Transportation on that proposed location. Uhl says he’s currently in the process of compiling cost information so that, should the DOT give their blessing to erecting a stoplight at that intersection, the project can be completed more quickly.
Washington Avenue Stoplight Photo from KIWA Archives
