A joint meeting of the Streets and Sanitation and Safety Committees was held last week to review facts and devise plans for the high amounts of traffic on Cardinal Drive which connects to the Walmart parking lot.

The matter was originally broached by residents of Cardinal Drive and they collected signatures in support of having some sort of measure implemented to stem the tide of vehicle traffic in the area. According to residents, it creates potentially hazardous conditions for both residents and pedestrians as there is no sidewalk and a great deal of traffic.

In a traffic study conducted in the area over the course of nine days following Christmas and to the beginning of the year, an excess of 14,000 vehicles were detected moving through Cardinal Drive. As part of the study, 7,787 vehicles traveling in one direction were recorded going an average of 29 mph and the overall average of all vehicles was 25 mph. In total, 12 vehicles were discovered to be driving above the speed limit. Traffic recorded in the other direction were observed with similar results. 

McMinnville Police Chief Nichole Mosley felt the count was accurate for day-to-day traffic trends and, although the original study took place during the holiday season, was likely around what the street regularly receives. An additional traffic count was started last week to monitor the number of vehicles which travel from Park Avenue to Cardinal Drive.

Alderman Stacey Harvey suggested blocking commercial vehicles on Cardinal Drive, which is a residential street, and he feels they should be using alternate routes to do so and wanted to review the original plat.

“I want to make sure Walmart has the ability to arbitrarily close that entrance,” said Harvey. “If three means of ingress and egress are permitted and required and they close one of them off, then they’re violating the terms they were given in their permit and COI. If they have the authority to do that, then, obviously there’s nothing we can do about it, but I do feel that creates a hardship for the people over on Cardinal Drive. If we could alter that, we could help them.”

According to Public Works Director Frank Southard, commercial traffic is supposed to enter Walmart from the North Chancery Street side. He posed the idea of putting up signage to disallow trucks on Cardinal but noted it would not necessarily stop them.

The committee proposed a sidewalk to be placed on one side from Sunset Drive to the three-way stop and then to Hillis Street to help support the pedestrian traffic in the area. Southard was tasked with detailing the cost of the project and agreed to bring the information back at a later meeting.

A speed bump was previously requested by the residents of Cardinal Drive, but Southard felt the sound produced by vehicles driving over it would lead to more complaints based on previous experiences.

He presented the committee with a similar, but less aggressive, alternative to a speed bump which carries a price tag of $2,000 for each strip. Southard explained two would be necessary to be effective and suggested placing the first between Sunset Drive and Park Avenue and the second one between Park Avenue and Hillis Street. A second option, rumble strips, would be $2,600 for two but, similar to speed bumps, he indicated they might produce more complaints than solutions due to noise.

“We’ve put them down before and, a month later, been called back out to take them up,” explained Southard. “The vehicles hit them during the night and wake people up. I’m not a big fan of these, but I wanted to share them to give you all an idea on how much it will cost to do it.”

Alderman Steve Harvey recommended placing the sidewalk and seeing its effect on traffic and safety in the area before implementing a speed deterrent as there was no evidence of considerable speeding in the traffic study.

Stacey motioned to approve a sidewalk on one side of the street and Alderman Sally Brock seconded. All members of the committee voted in favor of the motion. The committee has not yet chosen which side of the street will receive a sidewalk and Southard indicated it was a matter he would have to look into before deciding.

Further action was tabled pending research into the traffic study and Walmart’s ability to close its back parking lot.