City of Algood Looking To Reduce Traffic And Improve Safety

The city of Algood will conduct a traffic study to help relieve traffic.

The city will consult a traffic engineer to review 4th Avenue and Main Street and 2nd Avenue and Main Street. City Administrator Keith Morrison said increased traffic has caused both intersections to become less safe.

“They will go through a process to study the intersection and look at traffic, look at crash analysis, look at all the things that would affect that intersection, and what is going to happen if we put in a stop sign,” Morrison said. “Or, maybe, they say a stop sign is not the correct answer, and we need to do something different.”

Morrison said the stop sign at 4th Avenue is the main point of congestion. Increased 2nd Avenue intersection traffic is due to the addition of the Red Oak Roasters coffee shop.

“Fourth Avenue and Main Street has been a problem for a couple years. There is just so much traffic coming through town. Sometimes, you get stuck at the stop sign, and it takes a while to get out, so we are looking to ease that congestion at that intersection,” Morrison said. “And, also, 2nd Avenue and Main has been an issue for several years. Years ago there was a traffic light there. As traffic has increased, it has made it more difficult to pull out of that intersection.”

Morrison said the city will put out the traffic counters for a particular time frame and give the data to the traffic engineer.

The city of Algood does not have its own engineer. Anytime traffic flow is changed, a traffic engineer must approve the plans. Algood will consult with KimLey-Horn for $5,900.