Des Moines Sun

The Pleasant Hill City Council recently discussed future traffic improvement plans.

At a recent council meeting, city officials set the date for a public hearing and bid acceptance for the traffic safety improvement project. 

In May 2022, the city approved an agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation in order to receive $100,000 of funds to be used for converting seven traffic signals in intersections along the East University Avenue corridor to add flashing yellow arrows to the signals, aiding in traffic flow and safety along the busy stretch. 

"I'd kind of remind you that what we have done with that system is you're on a leading edge system of what you've done with the signal control, and it takes effort and time to put into it, working with them to make sure we get things working the way we want them to work," Snyder and Associates Representative Mark Parrington said. "Some of it is a bit of a you know, we find some troubleshooting in it as it relates to how we detect the vehicles and how we serve them with the grain in a certain direction or a turning lane. But a lot of those things I think, are coming together and we're going to make sure that it's working proper, to everybody’s satisfaction. I would comment and say that a lot of times I know there are certain key moments when people notice some some issues of feeling they're maybe waiting a little longer than normal. Again, some of this is the fine tuning of it. And other things have been a lot of times when we have it is working properly, a lot of traffic is going through."

The council set the date for April 11 when they will hear any input from the public and also accept bids for the traffic signal work from any companies who are interested. The project will also include the installation of battery backup systems at all the intersections, as they do not have any current systems of the sort. The council is eager to get the project started, as the city has been struggling recently with several traffic adaptations.

The council discussed other adaptive traffic signal issues, which they have been working with the supplier and manufacturer to solve and work on. The boost in traffic safety efforts have made a difference, according to council members, especially in comparison to other communities in the state. They are working with their many young drivers in mind, as well as the frequent flow in and out of nearby Des Moines. The city will also face a huge influx of traffic this summer with the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa event going directly through town this July.