Jackson aldermen consider pedestrian safety, enhanced signage proposals

Jackson city attorney Curt Poore, second from left, reads an ordinance during the Jackson mayor and board of aldermen meeting Monday, Aug. 5. The aldermen approved various change order payments and heard proposals about sign changes.

Christopher Borro ~ cborro@semissourian.com

The Jackson mayor and Board of Aldermen received word of a proposed pedestrian signage plan during their Monday, Aug. 5, meeting.

Janet Sanders, the city’s director of public works, presented a video about the SafeAcross program, a pedestrian safety initiative geared toward making motorists more aware of pedestrians.

“This was developed by the City of Springfield and I think embraced by MoDOT. There’s some potential MoDOT funding possibly available to help implement this program,” she said

Sanders said the program is focused on educating both drivers and pedestrians about street crossing safety protocols. She said the average cost for implementing the program is $17,000, though up to $15,000 in Missouri Department of Transportation funding could be available for the City of Jackson.

The initiative involves adding life-size, high-visibility cutouts of the pedestrian crossing symbol to crosswalk intersections and changing all existing pedestrian crossing signs from yellow to a florescent yellow-green.

MoDOT funding would not cover the sign color change, but Sanders expects the cost to be minimal. The signs could be refaced with new colored warnings instead of being entirely replaced.

A quantitative review of how effective the program is performing is another part of its implementation. If the city switches to the SafeAcross program, the change would be indefinite.

The aldermen expressed interest in the program, noting how some streets in the city could be dangerous for pedestrians.

“A lot of near misses,” outgoing city administrator Jim Roach said of Main Street. “In the last few years, a couple of pedestrians have been struck.”

Sanders’ sign-related presentation was not the only one. Erin Ressler, executive director of Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization (UJRO), approached the board about a sign project the organization is crafting.

Various signs marking significant locations such as shopping, parking and dining spots are to be installed uptown, all attached to existing poles.

“Just anything that you think you can go uptown and need, hopefully there will be a sign to point you to what you need,” Ressler said.

The aldermen would need to give approval for the signs to be in the right of way, and a memorandum of understanding between the city and UJRO must be approved regarding sign ownership and maintenance.

Other business

The aldermen approved a pair of change orders for different construction projects. They approved the first to Robinson Industrial, Heavy and Commercial Contacting Inc. of Perryville for water plant improvements for $12,015.94. The second was to Putz Construction LLC of Millersville for concrete pavement improvements for $30,160.24.

They also accepted a $7,455.60 proposal from HR Solutions On-Call LLC of Lee’s Summit for a 2024 employee wage, salary and benefits survey.