During their meeting Tuesday night, the Clear Lake City Council discussed traffic congestion at the intersection of Hwy 24 and Hwy 10. In attendance were MnDOT representatives Tom Nixon, Towards Zero Deaths coordinator, and Mike Ginnaty, transportation district engineer, and Jennifer Dierkes from McDonald’s Meats.
Previously “no turn on red” had been implemented at the intersection for Hwy 10 traffic turning north onto Hwy 24 to help create gaps for Clear Lake residents to be able to turn onto the highway.
Nixon explained they’ve been looking at data and found no recent serious or fatal crashes at the site, and that although there is a lot of traffic on the weekends, the number of vehicles traveling through the area has remained relatively steady for the past 10 years.
He asked the council what they were seeing as the major issue so that they could look for potential solutions from there. He stressed MnDOT is careful not to change things that may cause another problem.
Although all agreed the no turn on red has helped, the main issue is traffic backup, especially when trains are traveling through. However, the city doesn’t want to see traffic bypassed around Clear Lake.
One option discussed that many in attendance felt would help the problem was synchronizing the traffic lights with the trains.
Mayor Tim Goenner said he would also like to see yellow flashing lights for the fire department and the median barrier raised to help protect traffic.
Nixon said he felt the discussion went well as he now had a feeling for what the community wants fixed, and that he planned to go back and speak with the people he’d already been speaking with about the issue again.
“Right now, we’re talking about a convenience rather than a safety issue,” he said. “But that could change over time.”
Other Business
After a brief discussion a motion carried approving the 2020 preliminary budget, after which a motion carried approving Resolution 19-12, 2020 Tax Levy for $378,792.
Motions carried approving Resolutions 19-10 and 19-11, Ordering Abatement of a Nuisance. Two properties within city limits had complaints against them, both were sent letters prior to the approval of the resolutions in attempt to resolve the issues.
Resident Dave Michalski approached the council to state he doesn’t believe the city needs a compost site, there’s already one available in Becker.
The sheriff reported 22 points of contact for August (without traffic stops), including one theft, one assault, one DWI, one medical and a fireworks complaint.
The next Clear Lake City Council meeting will be Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
