September 24, 2021 |
In Saratoga, crossing First Street at Bridge Street in the heart of downtown can be frustrating if you’re a motorist and life-in-your hands scary if you’re a pedestrian. Traffic through the uncontrolled intersection is heavy most of the day. Sight angles are poor. Motorists crossing Bridge, or turning onto First, can inch out into the intersection and still not see oncoming traffic until it’s too late because of parked vehicles.
According to local lore, the lack of a traffic light at the crossing in the center of town has long been considered one of Saratoga’s charming attributes. It’s a town without traffic lights. This reporter was told that a traffic installed decades ago was reviled and bitterly ridiculed by townspeople until it was removed. It’s been driver beware ever since.
Some small relief may be coming. WYDOT will paint pedestrian crosswalks at the intersection this fall. Councilman Jon Nelson made the announcement Tuesday night.
The state’s involved. So that means there’s a catch. In this case, some kind of traffic control will be required. Councilman Nelson explained.
Nelson acknowledged that businesses along Bridge Street might not welcome such signage. Alternatives, such as a stand-up sign in the center of the intersection, pose other problems. Flimsy, unsecured signs could blow away in the wind or create just another object to avoid in what is already a year-round obstacle course. The remedy to the poor sight angle opens another set of problems. Eliminating the issue of peering around cars to see if the path is clear would mean fewer parking spaces in front of businesses at the corner. Nelson said WYDOT wants no part of that issue.
Given the slim pickings for parking downtown anyway, removing parking will likely meet resistance. Councilwoman D’Ron Cambbell, who was serving as Mayor Pro Tem in the absence of Mayor Creed James Tuesday, offered some motherly advice to avoid trouble at the intersection.
The sage advice for any cautious traveler proved to be an effective bookend on the subject. Councilman Nelson said he would report back when he knew more about the striping for the pedestrian crosswalk.
Pictured above: File photo of Downtown Saratoga. Photo by Bigfoot 99.
