New digital speed signs making a difference in traffic safety

It was slow going getting new pole-mounted radar speed signs installed along heavy traffic volume on Maple Avenue and North Third Street.

But, perhaps that was fitting, since the four digital reader boards are to slow traffic.

And they are doing the job – noticeably increasing road safety and driver speed awareness.

“I had one resident on North Third Street email me almost immediately after the signs went up and express how grateful they are for them,” Mayor Ramon Hayes told the Weekly News. “They’ve seen a significant impact already.”

Town Council member Bill Stokes, who sits on the panel’s finance committee and lobbied several years for the signs, said he has received similar public feedback.

“I walked up and down Maple Avenue talking to residents,” Stokes said on Saturday, “and the people commented that you could absolutely see traffic slow down once motorists saw the signs.

“All it takes,” he added, “is for that first car to slow down and the brake lights go on all the way down the line.”

The Town Council approved a $20,000 expenditure for the four signs in response to traffic safety concerns voiced by those living on Maple, which provides access to Rainbow Bridge, and North Third, the primary link between Morris Street and the La Conner Marina’s manufacturing businesses.

The town’s public works department installed the signs earlier this month.

Stokes, who served seven years as the town’s code enforcement officer, lauded the decision to place one of the signs near the intersection of Maple and Caledonia Street.

“When you look at the data,” he said, “that’s the most dangerous intersection in town. Statistically, that’s the case. Public safety is the No. 1 concern of the town council. That’s why I pushed so hard for this.”

Stokes early on advocated for permanent signs rather than reader boards mounted on trailers, noting that many streets in La Conner don’t have wide enough shoulders for portable signage.

Signs on trailers would also require two employees to put them in place and remove to storage or other locations on a regular basis, he said.

Stokes further pointed out that there is a portable reader board that can be utilized to augment the permanent signs and increased Skagit County Sheriff’s Office traffic patrols.

Another plus, he said, is that additional technologies – such as cameras – can be added to the pole-mounted signs as needs arise.

Stokes stressed that placing the signs in populated neighborhoods on two busy streets makes them less vulnerable to vandalism than if they were installed along less traveled, more remote roadways.

Sgt. Jeff Willard of the Sheriff’s Office La Conner Detachment and Undersheriff Chad Clark had cautioned Town officials about vandalism sustained by a permanent county radar sign on Cook Road near Sedro-Woolley.

Stokes said that in addition to his in-person contacts, social media posts regarding the new speed signs have been overwhelmingly positive.

Hayes has experienced much the same.

“Initially,” said Hayes, “we’re getting a positive response. I know I’m glad they’re there.”