Lantana’s Public Safety Subcommittee met last month to continue their discussion on traffic and pedestrian safety. One item on the agenda was the feasibility of installing speed tables on Lantana Trail and Stacee Lane to deter speeding.
A speed table is a traffic calming device designed as an elongated speed bump with a flat section in the middle, generally long enough for the entire wheelbase of a passenger car to sit on. The design allows cars to pass without slowing as significantly as with speed bumps.
Kevin Carlson, the district’s engineer, said that Stacee Lane would be a good place to test the effectiveness of a speed table due to the amount of traffic it carries and the number of students that use it to access Blanton Elementary and Harpool Middle School.
Carlson suggested a good spot to install the speed table would be between the bridge and the entrance to Madison.
He said the speed table is made of rubber and would be bolted down to the roadway.
“You can actually move it around if you wanted to,” said Kevin Mercer, Lantana’s General Manager.
Mercer said that Carlson has thus far not been able to find a pre-determined speed table design that would accommodate posted speed limits at or above 40 m.p.h., such as Lantana Trail.
“They are recommended for 30 miles an hour or less on non-collector-type roads,” said Carlson. “Lantana Trail is not the perfect place for them. Stacee Lane is a local roadway with a lot of pedestrians.”
Carlson estimated that the speed tables would cost the districts around $21,000 each.
Mercer said that Carlson will formally present a proposal to the boards at an upcoming meeting.
Mercer also reviewed the results of a study regarding building a pedestrian underpass at Lantana Trail and Stacee Lane to divert pedestrians from a busy crosswalk where two incidents occurred in the past year involving children being hit by vehicles while on their way to school.
His report stated that there were several underground utility conflicts that would make the installation of a tunnel unfeasible and estimated the cost of relocating utilities and the design and construction of the underpass would exceed $600,000.
“Every utility you could think of is in the way at that location,” said Mercer.
A plan to get kids through the intersection while keeping traffic flowing in the coming school year was also discussed.
During the latter half of this past school year, the districts paid the Denton County Constable’s office to man the intersection during morning rush hour.
Mercer said that the two fresh water district boards will discuss options for crossing guards for the upcoming school year at their July 11 joint meeting.
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