Fairfield decides to permanently remove traffic signals at Broadway and Second

FAIRFIELD – The city of Fairfield has decided to remove the traffic signals at the intersection of Second Street and Broadway Avenue after testing out the idea for the past three months.

The Fairfield City Council’s Public Safety and Transportation Committee voted to remove the traffic signals after the city turned them off in mid-August. The intersection now just has a stop sign for traffic coming from the west on Broadway, since Broadway is one-way there going east. Traffic going north and south on Second Street now do not stop.

The city previously announced that it would wanted to experiment with turning the traffic signal off for two months between Aug. 16 and Oct. 18. Fairfield Public Works Director and City Engineer Melanie Carlson told the Fairfield City Council that she spent a day in September collecting data on traffic speeds at the intersection. In her report to the Fairfield City Council, Carlson said that vehicle speeds tended to be higher in the morning and at 5 p.m. compared to noon. She said no vehicle was observed going more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.

Now that the city is satisfied with the experiment, it will confer with the Iowa Department of Transportation about the necessary steps to make this change permanent. Fairfield city crews will remove the signals, and the city will look into budgeting for a rapid flashing beacon to alert motorists of crossing pedestrians. Carlson previously told The Union that replacing the old signals would have cost $300,000, but installing a beacon would cost closer to $30,000.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com