A roundabout is planned to slow traffic and increase safety at the corner of 40th Avenue and 14th Street South, northeast of S.G. Reinertson School.

The city’s plan to make 40th Avenue South safer extends from Eighth Street to 20th Street South.

Moorhead City Council

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Moorhead will be making a variety of changes to improve safety on 40th Avenue South this summer, including the intersection near S.G. Reinertson Elementary School.

City engineer Bob Zimmerman detailed improvements planned by his department before the Moorhead City Council Monday evening, while assistant engineer Tom Trowbridge presented the same report to the Moorhead School Board. The council unanimously approved the preliminary engineering report, with its accelerated schedule leading to the award of construction contracts in just three months.

The plan presented by the engineers addresses safety concerns on the stretch from Eighth to 20th Streets South. “This is not a typical project,” Zimmerman told the group. “When it was constructed 20 years ago, most of the land around it was undeveloped. Design standards were more favorable to vehicular traffic and less to pedestrians.”

Among the plan’s features is a roundabout at the corner of 40th Avenue and 14th Street South northeast of S.G. Reinertson Elementary School. Other elements include RRFBs (rectangular rapid flashing beacons) and so-called “pedestrian refuge islands” for two-step pedestrian crossing of the busy street.

The plan presented by the engineers addresses safety concerns on the stretch from Eighth to 20th Streets South. “This is not a typical project,” Zimmerman told the group. “When it was constructed 20 years ago, most of the land around it was undeveloped. Design standards were more favorable to vehicular traffic and less to pedestrians.”

Today the avenue is surrounded by both single-family and multi-unit residential developments, as well as major destinations – Hornbacher’s, S.G. Reinertson School, Brookdale Baptist Church and Johnson Farms Park. Traffic flow has dramatically increased, along with problems. Zimmerman noted that drivers’ speed and frequent disregard of the four-way stop by the school have made the route far riskier.

The engineer noted that roundabouts have been proven to increase crossing safety, in comparison with four-way stops or traffic signals. A study last fall revealed that less than 50% of drivers come to a full stop at the corner as it is now. Historically, the third alternative, traffic signals, has the highest crash rate of all – well over twice that of a quartet of stop signs, and nearly four times higher than traffic roundabouts.

The roundabout, he said, will force slower speeds on the route, where posted speeds range from 30 mph at Hornbacher’s to 40 mph farther east. It will also provide a safe midpoint for schoolchildren as they cross the roadway before and after school.

The area has been in the local spotlight since last August, when 9-year-old Adam Amin was killed when his bicycle was struck by a truck near the school at the intersection of 14th Street and 40th Avenue.

Council members applauded the planned improvements. Emily Moore pointed out, however, that the safety of pedestrians and vehicles ultimately rests with drivers themselves. “I implore, beg our community to stop at stop signs and to slow down. We have a father, a friend of ours up here who lost his son, a mom lost her child, brother lost a brother. This is really hard for our community. So please, I beg you, don’t let this happen again. Do your part as drivers and follow the rules of the road.”