LAKE VIEW, IOWA – SEPTEMBER 20, 2010
Before the Lake View City Council was the following resolution to place a stop sign at the corner of 3rd and Main Street. Councilperson Tim Laney, the ordinance’s strongest advocate immediately made a motion to pass the first reading of the ordinance. Before a second could be made, councilperson Jerry Huss stopped the process to express some concerns.
According to Mr. Huss, local law enforcement officials have expressed their concerns to him about the extent to which traffic could be impeded should the council place a stop sign at that intersection. As an EMT, Mr. Huss was also concerned that placing a stop sign at that intersection would slow down first response time by adding another stop sign on the route he calls, “The fastest way out of town.”
He acknowledged the visibility concerns for which this ordinance was drafted to address but said, “We can’t protect every intersection.”
Councilperson Kenny Steinkamp relayed to the council an informal study he had conducted between the hours of 11Am to 1PM and 4PM to 6PM at that intersection. According to Mr. Steinkamp, he didn’t know if the 4 to 6 hours of congestion he observed at that location warrants a stop sign. He also questioned where the stop signs could be placed. Mr. Steinkamp suggested that there would not be a way to place the sign without interrupting the look of the streetscape. Mr. Steinkamp shared with the council that he was at first in favor of placing the stop signs for safety reasons, but on reflection agrees with Mr. Huss. He summed up his feelings saying, “I don’t think it really is for the public good as it is for just individuals during a certain amount [period] of time.”
Councilperson Tony Foval-North brought up the possibility of putting into operation a mobile stop sign as an alternative. City Administrator Scott Peterson answered Ms. Foval-North by using the example of the mobile stop sign in use at the East Sac County High School. According to Mr. Peterson there are some issues with enforcement. The stop sign at the school is not designated through Lake View code and is therefore not enforceable.
After listening to the conversation, Councilperson Tim Laney said, “I don’t believe [there is] congestion, I think that’s a made up god-damn excuse for not doing it, but here and there, it doesn’t matter to me whether we have it there or not cause I don’t go that way nine times out of ten.” Mr. Laney went on to say, “I really believe we are going to get somebody hurt, and when it happens, we’re going to bring it up again.”
At that point, there ensued a conversation about eliminated one parking stall from in front of Kathy’s Korner in order to restore some visibility, but the council seemed unwilling to take action on this without consulting Kathy.
Before the conversation commenced, Tim Laney made the motion to approve the first reading of the ordinance encoding a stop sign for that location. After the conversation, the motion died for lack of a second.
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