When it comes to the intersection at Johnson Drive and Maurer Road, Shawnee residents and the Shawnee City Council generally agree that it’s dangerous. But no one agreed on how exactly to make it safer.
At an Oct. 9 council committee meeting, city leaders and staff discussed potential solutions on how to improve traffic safety at the intersection. While city staff recommended addressing sight distance issues, residents argued it’s more of a speeding problem at the busy east-west corridor.
No action was taken, and the conversation was tabled to a future date.
City staff introduced new data
Following an Aug. 14 city council meeting, city staff returned with research on the intersection.
In a speed assessment test, which covered a heavily-trafficked strip of Johnson Drive that includes the intersection at Maurer Road, it found that the average speed on Johnson Drive ranged between 39 and 42 mph. The speed limit on the road is 35 mph.
City Engineer Loren Snyder said that even with speed taken into account, if people drove below the speed limit, visibility when turning on to Johnson Drive would still be a problem because of poor sight lines.
The committee sees speeding as the problem
While city staff leaned heavy on the problem being visibility, residents and the committee members still see it as a problem of people driving too fast.
“We continue to talk about sight distance when, frankly, I think it’s a speeding issue,” said Councilmember Tammy Thomas. “Just being out on the roads as of late, lots of speeding happens on Johnson Drive.”
Thomas also added that as more businesses and venues pop up in the area, she fears it will only get worse.
Councilmember Eric Jenkins agreed with Thomas.
“Speeding is a problem,” he said. “As I go door-to-door in this community talking to people, I’m reminded of it every day. I’d love to get some ideas on how to make it stop.”
Some committee members want increased speeding enforcement
Echoing other public comments, Thomas suggested more traffic enforcement in the area might be key.
“If you speed, you’re going to get a ticket. I don’t know why we couldn’t go that way,” she said. “Addressing the sight line only — I’m not a supporter of that.”
City Manager Doug Gerber pushed back on higher ticket enforcement.
“Myself and the police department are not opposed to doing increase enforcement, but as you think about that area, there’s not a good area to stop people,” Gerber said, suggesting safety concerns for stopped vehicles in the area.
No action was taken on the issue
While public comments ranged on a variety of issues, Jenkins said the committee will continue to take it into account as it moves forward. No timetable was given for the next discussion of the issue.
“I heard some great feedback from the audience tonight,” he said. “This is a complicated issues. It all seemed so simple at first glance. You start peeling the onion and it gets so complicated.”
Go deeper: Click here to follow the discussion, which begins at 8:10.
