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<br /> <br /> STAFF REPORT <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />TO: Mayor Keis and Members of the City Council <br /> <br />FROM: Bill Dircks, Public Works Director <br /> <br />DATE: May 5, 2021 <br /> <br />RE: Implement All-Way Stop at Eli/Desoto Intersection <br /> <br />ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: <br />Motion to approve the implementation of an all-way stop at the intersection of Eli Road and <br />Desoto Street. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Eli Road and Desoto Street from Eli Road to Labore Avenue were reconstructed in 2009. At that <br />time, there was a narrow, paved trail that ran on the west side of Desoto Street, curved onto Eli <br />Road, ran on the north side of Eli, and then crossed Eli to the school property about 170 feet west <br />of Desoto Street. <br /> <br />When the road was reconstructed it was decided that the sidewalk should be lined up with the <br />intersection to make it safer than as a mid-block crosswalk. The old setup was an uncontrolled <br />intersection with no stops or yields at all. The entire intersection was realigned with the <br />reconstruction and the decision was made to have a stop condition coming out of the school <br />parking lot, a yield condition for vehicles traveling eastbound, and no control for vehicles <br />traveling southbound on Desoto. The idea was to try and keep it similar to what it had been in <br />the past. <br /> <br />In the years since then, staff has received calls from school staff and others requesting an all-way <br />stop condition at the intersection to help with school drop off and pickup times when there is <br />quite a bit of traffic. A flashing crosswalk was added to add more visibility to the crosswalk and <br />make it safer for the children. There is also an adult from the school staff that helps the children <br />cross before and after school. <br /> <br />There have still been some near misses and more requests for a change in the intersection, so <br />staff had Bolton & Menk conduct an analysis of the intersection to see if an all-way stop <br />condition was warranted. The results of the analysis did confirm that an all-way stop condition <br />is the best available setup for the intersection. <br /> <br />The addition of stop signs will necessitate the removal of the rapid flashing crosswalk sign <br />system that is currently installed for the crosswalk. They cannot be used at controlled <br />intersections. Staff contacted the principal of the school to make sure he and his staff was aware <br />that the signs would be removed and he was ok with the changes and was grateful for the <br />proposed changes and felt the intersection would be much safer.