Colfax considers crosswalk update, no parking on Grass Valley Street

The Colfax City Council discussed options regarding a possible update to a crosswalk and prohibiting westbound parking on Grass Valley Street during its July 12 meeting. Interim City Manager Mike Luken said staff began analyzing safety issues, such as sight distance, of the crosswalk after the city received a complaint from a concerned resident. Luken advised the crosswalk on Grass Valley Street is one of three mid-block crosswalks (crosswalks in an unprotected area that is not a natural place where people expect a crossing to be) within Colfax. "Once the safety issue is brought to the attention of a city, typically it has to act on that item because it has the potential to increase liability to the city," Luken said. Colfax City Engineer Carl Moore advised there are two parking spaces in front of the crosswalk and a vehicle parked there creates a hazard as a pedestrian would not be seen until they step onto the roadway. Moore shared potential remedies staff explored included replacing and adding more signage, restriping the crosswalk and prohibiting parking on the westbound side of the roadway adjacent to the crosswalk. Moore advised the lowest-cost option to address the safety issue would be to place signage and paint the curbs. Moore confirmed if the city explored making the crosswalk perpendicular, as opposed to diagonal, more work would be involved as the city would be required to add ADA-compliant ramps. Moore said another option would be to remove the crosswalk, which could lead to more illegal crossings. Moore also noted the crosswalk is utilized for school crossing. "Without that, then we're asking them to go down to Main (Street), cross and go up toward the schools, and we know what the kids are going to be doing," Moore said. During the council's deliberation over possible options, Councilmember Sean Lomen inquired about the feasibility of moving the crosswalk to Kneeland Street or to where Brown Lane and Rising Sun Street are. Mayor Trinity Burruss inquired about utilizing a solar-powered pedestrian-activated light system, as it could address the safety issue, especially for children during city events at night and on Halloween. Burruss, Lomen and Mayor Pro Tem Kim Douglass noted they did not want to prohibit parking on Grass Valley Street. "... We already have a very restrictive parking scheme downtown and I know that the impact to the families who do live on that road would be significant," Burruss said. "I'd love to see any option that involved not eliminating parking." Comments the council received included confirmation of the dangers posed by the crosswalk, residents being opposed to the prohibition of parking and one resident noting she did not want constant flashing lights outside of her home. Moore confirmed he would look into different alternatives for addressing the safety issue. Luken added staff would also create a matrix of the pros, cons and costs for each option explored and present the information at a future council meeting.