Is Ortonville ready for a traffic light by the Holiday Stati

I know that with the dike road being closed because they are putting in a new bridge traffic has increased on Hwy 12. Even so it is still a busy corner and I for one would like to see a light put up. It is difficult to make a left hand turn going into downtown Ortonville from Big Stone City and traffic on the Highway backs up all the way to the train bridge at times.

I CAN'T believe there hasn't been a crash there yet
Please Ortonville or whoever is responsible put a stop light up!!!

There have been a couple crashes there actually.

Hey...I didn't know there had been wrecks at the intersection. How bad were they? Hope no one was hurt real bad! Will it take someone getting killed for Ortonville to do something about the intersection?

I visited with my hairdresser yesterday (and after all everyone knows that your hairdresser knows for sure). She said that the State of MN had already surveyed the intersection and determined that there wasn't enough traffic to warrant putting in a light.


I wonder how long ago they did the survey. Were they using horse and buggies then?

The survey that was done was many years ago. Maybe someone should
look into contacting the mdot for another survey....

I know of at least two accidents on that corner. One involved a milk truck, I don't know any of the details on that one. The second was a minivan and another smaller car, no one was hurt.

Honestly, I don't think that there is not enough traffic to warrant the cost it would be to put up a light there. I think before putting up a traffic light, it would have to be a four way stop. Having to drive in St. Cloud on a regular basis, it really is not a bad intersection.

There have been several accidents over the years at the Holiday intersection. Yes, there was a survey done by the State of MN, but it has been at least 10 years ago (if not longer). There have been times when you have to sit at that stop sign and wait a good 5 minutes for traffic to pass. I wonder if it would be helpful to have First Street going south actually have a lane that would branch off to the right - with that lane a merge type lane to go to Big Stone. Since there is no longer a railroad track along there, that has freed up some of the traffic and might allow for a separate lane. I'm thinking further west where the Parade of Flags are now located. Hopefully I'm making sense. Course I have no idea of who owns that land.

I'm not an engineer or traffic person, but there has to be a way to get the flow of that traffic move faster if MN DOT feels a traffic light isn't necessary.

Another intersection that is an accident waiting to happen is the four way stop at Hilltop. Many times I have seen vehicles blow right through that intersection. That intersection could use SOMETHING -- rumble strips, flashing lights, etc. if MN DOT doesn't feel a stop light is necessary.

If someone can find out if this takes a petition, contact with MN DOT, or city/county officials -- please post that information.


nascargirl

A traffic light at this intersection would be totally unnecessary.

There is not enough traffic to warrant a light and really the only issue at the intersection is making a left turn towards downtown Ortonville when coming from Big Stone. Even then, the only time this backs up is during the "rush" hours which is a very small time frame of each day.

Accidents have been pretty minimal and the milk truck incidents there have either been the fault of the driver or equipment malfunction.

The fact that Holiday has two entrances which do not line up with Hwy. 12 coming from Big Stone alone is enough reason for the State to not put a light up. It would be a nightmare to try and manage.

I think a 4-way stop would be a bad idea as it would just slow ALL the traffic down for very little benefit.

I say leave it like it is.

I will agree that the 4-way stop on top of the hill is a problem. I have seen many vehicles fly through that thing over the years. Rumble strips would be the easiest solution, but I know they have to consider the noise problem when located so close to a city.

Actually, I have noticed that the only traffic that seems to miss the stop sign is the traffic coming up the hill from Cashtown. I personally think that non-locals get distracted when they get to the top of the hill and see all of the stuff to the right of them. The museum, the boat, and especially Paul Bunyans's Anchor would really catch someone's eye who is not used to seeing them. They are so busy trying to figure out what it is and they totally miss the stop sign. At least that is my theory!!

I actually just recieved a email from the state of MN and they said that there was not enough trafic to justify the expense of having one there. I believe its just pure lazyness but oh well.......