Walk this way?

On any given day, entering 1st Street/Wyoming Highway 130 in Saratoga from Bridge Avenue typically requires saying a prayer, holding your breath and stepping on the gas pedal. 

It can be just as dangerous on foot when crossing that same intersection, often with the feeling of recreating the classic arcade game “Frogger”. While not as busy as Interstate 80, which sits 20 miles north of Saratoga, 1st Street is by no means a quiet street. Though there aren’t any plans in the near future of installing any sort of traffic lights—a “rustic” charm of the town of around 1,600 is the lack of such lights—some crosswalks may appear in the future.

At the September 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Jon Nelson informed his two fellow council members—Mayor Creed James and Councilmember Ben Spaulding were absent—of recent discussions with the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WyDOT).

“I’ve been in touch with WyDOT about our intersection here of Bridge (Avenue) and 1st Street. Last week ... I was trying to cross the street and couldn’t see down the road because of parked cars and pedestrians there were trying to cross. I scootched (sic) out and almost got myself T-boned and it would have been my fault,” said Nelson. “It prompted me to call WyDOT the next morning and kind of follow up on a conversation we’ve already had a little bit in this room and with public works about trying to get a crosswalk and some safety improvements to that intersection. I had a couple different conversations over the last few days with District 1.”

The result of those recent conversations, according to Nelson, was WyDOT had committed to striping the intersection not just on 1st Street but on Bridge Avenue as well. While the department of transportation does not typically paint crosswalks on municipally owned roadways, and Nelson proposed a cost-share project with the Town of Saratoga, WyDOT ultimately committed to painting all four sides of the intersection before the end of the year.

What comes along with the crosswalk, however, is advance signage required by law. At the time of the meeting, it was unknown what this would look like or where it could be placed. Nelson cited the concerns of taking up space from private property owners to hold the signage but added the Town would need more than a sign held down by a sandbag. Without that signage, the crosswalk would not be considered legal.

As discussion continued, the additional issue of the sight triangle was raised as well. Councilmember D’Ron Campbell, serving in the role of mayor pro-tem, stated she specifically taught her children not to drive down Bridge Avenue due to the unsafe nature of the intersection.

“We talked about the sight triangle issue. They’ve done a study and agreed there’s a legitimate sight triangle issue, particularly if you have a snowmobile trailer or an RV (recreational vehicle) or something like that that takes one of those spots closest to the intersection,” Nelson said. “It really creates a problem.”

It is not uncommon to have sight of 1st Street blocked by trucks with trailers parked either alongside the Hotel Wolf or Koyoty Sports, two of the cornerstone downtown businesses which sit on the northbound lane of 1st Street. Additionally, similar vehicles parked alongside Laura M’s Gallery, which sits on the southbound lane of 1st Street, also cause sight triangle issues. 

Nelson informed Campbell and Councilmember Ron Hutchins that, as far as WyDOT was concerned, what to do with parking in those areas was a political issue best handled by the Saratoga Town Council. While Campbell suggested signs prohibiting certain size vehicles from parking in those areas, Nelson reminded the council that brought with it additional signage concerns and additional enforcement by the Saratoga Police Department.

Though crosswalks may be coming to a busy, and sometimes dangerous, intersection in Saratoga it appears other questions on how to address it will remain unanswered for the time being.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Town Council will be at 6 p.m. on October 5 at Saratoga Town Hall.