10-26-2005 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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BOB FLETCHER RAMSEY COUNTY SHERIFF 425 Grove St. St. Paul, MN 551 01 -241 8 Telephone: (651) 266 -9300 Telefacsimile: (651) 266 -9301 Joel Hanson Little Canada City Administrator 515 East Little Canada Road Little Canada, Minnesota 55117 Dear Joel, October 20 "1, 2005 This past summer, there were two accidents involving Ramsey County Sheriffs Department squad cars at intersections that did not have emergency vehicle intersection controls. In both instances, the squad cars and the cars that struck them were determined to be total losses by the involved insurance companies. Our Deputies escaped serious injury, but two citizens were seriously hurt in one of the crashes. In each of the incidents, the Deputies were responding to emergency situations with their emergency lights and siren activated. Because the intersections they were crossing did not have emergency vehicle intersection controls, the Deputies were unable to change the traffic signals to give their squads the right -of -way. Consequently, they had to enter the intersections relying on their emergency lights and siren to stop traffic. In both instances, traffic stopped for the squad cars, with the exception of one car at each intersection that did not heed the lights and siren. We are concerned about the lack of emergency vehicle traffic controls at some of the busiest intersections in our Contract Cities. At our request, the Ramsey County Traffic Engineer compiled a list of major intersections in the County that do not have emergency vehicle traffic controls and estimated the cost of adding emergency traffic controls to each of those intersections. The list accompanies this letter. The expense estimates are for the price of the equipment and the cost of the electrician to install the equipment. The Office of the Traffic Engineer has offered to provide the traffic control engineering and inspection services for each of the intersections. Little Canada has one major intersection that lacks emergency traffic controls and three intersections that have only partial emergency traffic controls. The intersection lacking any emergency traffic controls, Rice St. at North Owasso Blvd., is shared with Shoreview and Vadnais Heights. ADULT DETENTION DIVISION (651) 266 -9350 • CIVIL PROCESS (651) 26-' -? -_ • PATROL DIVISION (651) 481 -1317 • WARRANTS (651) 266 -9320 :.rte