Grand Marais officials said June 30 that help is on the way to improve pedestrian safety along the Highway 61 corridor through town.
Mayor Sue Hakes told council that a number of bright orange flags along with baskets or some other type of holders have been ordered and will soon be placed at the highway crosswalk near Buck’s Hardware/ Midway at First Avenue West. If the hand-held flags prove successful, said Hakes, more will be ordered and placed at other key crosswalks in town.
Hakes, who has spearheaded the effort to institute the pedestrian flag program locally, said she has talked with officials in Salt Lake City, where the program was started several years ago and is now practiced at over 40 intersections in the city. The mayor said she is hopeful the flags will improve safety, and said there were some skeptics in Salt Lake City at first, too. “They told me people giggled at the meeting when it was first brought up there, too,” she said.
But, owing to the potential peril and confusion that exists at some of Grand Marais’ crosswalks, Hakes said the flags are an inexpensive, low-risk way to try to improve the situation.
The way the system works is that a basket or other receptacle containing the flags will be placed at the intersection— one on each side of the highway—along with a sign instructing pedestrians to “look left and right before crossing, and use an orange flag
for added visibility.”
Once across the street, pedestrians are to deposit the flags in the basket on that side for re-use by others. The idea is that motorists will become more aware of the pedestrians and the crosswalks, slow down and stop, as required by state law. The flags will only be used at alreadydesignated crosswalks, and their use is strictly voluntary.
In a related matter, City Administrator Mike Roth reported that the new speed sign has arrived, and is awaiting installation along the west entrance to town. Roth said the sign is very heavy, and the city street crew will try to put it up, but may have to call upon the state Department of Transportation for assistance and expertise. The sign will be permanently affixed to the existing 30 mph speed limit sign leading into the city, and will tell motorists “Your speed is…” on a continuous radar read-out.
Roth also said there is a mystery surrounding the “stop for pedestrians” signs the city places near intersections on the highway. In recent weeks, somebody has put tape or otherwise blocked out the small stop signs depicted on the face of the signs, but left the rest of the message intact. Roth said he suspects it may have been a MnDOT employee just trying to enforce the regulations about proper depiction of a stop sign, but said it was a bit odd that nobody contacted City Hall before taking the action. “It clearly wasn’t prankish, ” he said of the unauthorized alterations.
In other business:
.
. Al Taenzer of the Lions Club was given
permission to place 10 receptacles for collection of recyclable materials near trash cans around town. Taenzer said he can assure council that the receptacles will be well-taken care of—emptied and kept in good repair—and that the project has shown itself to be successful during Fisherman’s Picnic. . Scott Puch and Ben Silence presented an
application on behalf of the American Legion for a temporary liquor and gambling license to again serve beer in the bingo tent during Fisherman’s Picnic Aug. 5-8. Puch said there were no problems during the event last year, and there are no changes in procedure planned for this year. Approval was granted. . Tanya Eliasen of the North Shore Federal
Credit Union was granted a street use permit for the annual member appreciation BBQ cookout from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 21 in the credit union’s parking lot and side street. The city will place wooden barriers to block each end of Second Street. . J.D. Burton of Flaherty Hood gave a presentation
for Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities outlining the last legislative session, coalition activities and ongoing issues. The city is a member of the statewide organization. . Mayor Hakes said information has been
sent to Bruce Leng, owner of the old theater building, that he requested about possibly demolishing or renovating the abandoned structure. Hakes said any funds from Iron Range Resources earmarked for demolition may only be used if there are plans for redevelopment of the site — the agency will not support conversion of the site to green space. Hakes said she plans to meet with Leng the next time he is in town to discuss options, and said he is anxious to work with the city to make the building more presentable.
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