Submitted by Ken Watts
The first draft of the “community” proposal for the design of US 20 Ashton to SH 87 has been completed by the proposal committee (17 members of the community). In an effort to inform people about the contents of the proposal, Ken’s Korner is publishing sections of the proposal. It is hoped that you will provide feedback and offer your ideas to the committee so that the proposal can be improved. This week the Elk Run portion of the section on intersections is being published for your use. This section was chosen because the City and County are currently considering changes to this intersection. 7.0 INTERSECTIONS The purpose of this section is to put forth community solutions for the various intersections located in the Island Park area. It is proposed that improvements to the intersections be done in a phased approach with simple improvements done as early as 2023. Simple improvements could be right turn merge lanes at the busier intersections. Near term improvements could be the addition of stop lights, roundabouts, or compact overpasses at the busier intersections. Near term would be within the next five years. Intersection improvements can be prioritized based on community needs. The intersection at Elk Creek is likely the highest priority, followed by the intersections at Mack’s Inn and Robin’s Roost. 7.5 ELK CREEK The intersection of Yale-Kilgore Road and US 20 at Elk Creek is one of the most congested intersections in Island Park during some hours of the summer tourist season. It does need improvements to relieve congestion and improve safety even though there are few accidents at this intersection. The first improvement should be a long radius right turn lane, with no stop sign, going south on US 20 from Yale-Kilgore Road. This change would include a long merge lane to allow blending of traffic on US 20. This small change would improve traffic flow dramatically especially when people are traveling south after a holiday weekend. This change would also allow left turning traffic to clearly see traffic coming from the south on US 20. Currently right turning traffic blocks the view of left turning traffic causing considerable left turn anxiety and potential safety issues. This minor improvement should be done in 2023 and can be done under categorical exclusion and at a low cost. It will greatly improve traffic flow. It will also support other near term improvements. ITD has stated that they are willing to do other improvements on this intersection in the near term (2028 or earlier) if the City and County agree on a solution. Brandon Harris, County Road and Bridge, supports installing a traffic light at this intersection…. The traffic light could be programmed in many different ways. For example, it could be set up to operate when traffic is heavier and give preference to traffic on US 20. It could be set up to flash yellow on US 20 and red on Yale-Kilgore Road when traffic is lighter. Another option is to allow the light to change when vehicles are on Yale-Kilgore Road at the intersection…. Snowmobiles and ATVs must have access to Elk Creek Station for fuel. Recreational vehicles are an economic driver for this business area. The stop light will provide safer access and crossing. Some members of the community support a roundabout at the Elk Creek intersection. A roundabout may result in fewer crashes and lower energy crashes because of the low speeds in a roundabout. If drivers use the roundabout properly, traffic can keep moving slowly. The roundabout would have to be large because some trucks using the road are near 100 feet long and weigh 110, 000 lbs. when loaded. The roundabout would also have to be well lit so that it can be easily seen. A third option that was considered by the subcommittee is a compact 2 lane overpass. In this design, Yale-Kilgore Road would be sunken a few feet and US 20 would be raised a few feet to keep the overpass closer to grade. Concrete retaining walls would be used to keep the shoulders on US 20 narrower. The intersection would have typical interchange entrances and exits. The design will allow for recreational vehicles to easily and safely pass under US 20. There is plenty of distance between the two wetlands to accommodate the compact interchange. This intersection design would safer than a roundabout or an intersection with a traffic light. This design improves mobility and allows for higher speeds on US 20 at the intersection. For the near term, a traffic light at the existing intersection makes the most sense and would be very cost effective. It reasonably addresses mobility when programmed correctly.
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May 2023
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