City of Newton addressing busy intersections

New stops signs will soon be placed at several busy intersections throughout the city.

The Newton City Council recently approved the ordinance change on its final reading to add stop signs at four intersections and restrict parking in two sections of roadway.

“These neighborhoods and intersections were analyzed by city staff and based on the school traffic, student pedestrian traffic and the neighborhood dynamics the Traffic Safety Committee recommends that stops signs be added,” city administrator Bob Knabel said.

Citizens had expressed concern about the North 11th Avenue East and East Eighth Street North intersection and the South Seventh Avenue and East 10th Street South intersection in relation to vehicle and pedestrian traffic and the lack of stops signs causing safety issues, Knabel said.

The Newton Community School District raised concerns about the intersection of East 23rd Street South and South Fifth Avenue East because of young children crossing the roadway to get to Aurora Heights Elementary School with no stop signs present.

Also, the intersection of North Fifth Avenue East and East 23rd Street North currently has stops signs for north and southbound traffic. The city received a request from a concerned citizen to put a four-way stop in place to improve safety at the intersection.

New signage will be put up at the following intersections:

• On South Fifth Avenue East at East 23rd Street South, east and westbound traffic already stops on South Fifth Avenue East. Stop signs will be added to East 23rd Street South for both northbound and southbound traffic for a safer school crossing.

• On North 11th Avenue at East Eighth Street, a current yield sign for westbound traffic will be replaced with a stop sign for a higher level of safety at the Y intersection and railway crossing.

• South Seventh Avenue East at East 10th Street South currently have an uncontrolled intersection. Stop signs will be added to South Seventh Avenue East for east and westbound traffic. East 10th Street South currently does not have a stop sign at South Sixth Avenue East.

• At North Fifth Avenue and East 23rd Street North, stops signs will be installed on North Fifth Avenue East for eastbound and westbound traffic per the existing code of ordinances.

Restricted parking was also approved on the east side of East 13th Street North in the 100 and 300 blocks and the east side of East 20th Street North in the 200 and 300 blocks.

While researching the areas, it was found that parked vehicles on the east side of East 13th Street North cause a hazardous situation for vehicles traveling west of First Avenue East and turning north onto East 13th Street North. The current street width is 25 feet, which the city found is not wide enough to safely accommodate parking on both sides of the street.

Similar concerns were found in the 200 and 300 block of East 20th Street North. The city originally planned to restrict parking on the west side of the street, but after receiving a petition from citizens about concerns over restricting parking on the west side, the city decided to restrict parking on the east side where drivers park less often.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com