Boy's death triggers new stoplight

By Jacob Doran

Bigfork Eagle

The passions and drive of a community shaken by the death of a 14-year-old Somers student in July succeeded last week by triggering a recommendation by the Montana Department of Transportation and a subsequent ruling by the Highway Commission that a traffic light and crosswalks be placed at the intersection of U.S. Highway 93 and Montana 82.

MDOT director Jim Lynch announced the department's recommendation to Flathead County residents during a public forum held at FVCC, two weeks ago. Several residents of the Lakeside-Somers community attended the meeting, along with representatives of the Flathead County Sheriff's Office and the Montana Highway Patrol, Rep. Mark Blasdel of House District 10, and county commissioners Gary Hall and Dale Lauman.

The decision came to recommend a light came as a result of an earlier meeting, held in July, following the July 10 death of Dane Shattuck. Shattuck had graduated from Somers Middle School in just a month earlier and looked forward to promising future in music. He was struck while crossing Highway 93 on his bicycle, attempting to reach the White Oak C-Mart.

The accident occurred south of the intersection, where another pedestrian was struck last year. Shattuck and a friend had sought to reach the White Oak convenience store, where they intended to purchase a soft drink, as many other young people do during the hot summer months.

Shattuck's parents attended the July meeting with Lynch and other state and county officials, along with a large turnout of residents who expressed outrage over the perceived inaction of the state in resolving safety issues presented by the intersection. Residents stated that a number of letters had been sent to MDT in the past, requesting that something be done about the intersection and expressing concern that more accidents would occur if the intersection was not made safer.

Educators and school administration were also fearful for the safety of students, whom they said would continue to cross the highway at the intersection because the White Oak convenience store remained the only business in the community where they could purchase soft drinks and other snacks.

Additional concern was expressed in regard to the Somers bike trail, which crosses Montana 82 just east of the intersection. The bike trail is heavily trafficked by both young people and adults, who use it as a link to south Kalispell.

Public comment at the meeting all but overwhelmed Lynch, who experienced difficulty answering the concerns expressed by the community because of the flood of emotionally charged comments from individuals who demanded that the department take action immediately, before any more lives could be lost.

During last month's public forum, friends of the Shattucks presented a petition with 1,787 signatures, which later grew to more than 2,000, calling for the installation of a light at the deadly intersection. Friends also pointed out that 15 vehicular accidents had occurred at the intersection between 2005 and 2006, which averaged to more than one accident every eight weeks.

Lynch has held from the beginning that a light would be the safest way for pedestrians to cross the intersection. While his intentions were clear, at the earlier meeting, in which he asserted that MDT understands the need to mitigate the danger associated with the intersection of Highways 93 and 82, the timeline for implementing proposed fixes was viewed as unacceptable to most of those in attendance.

Apparently, the community's insistence that immediate action be taken paid off, because last week's ruling of the Highway Commission deemed that the traffic signals be installed rather quickly. Construction will most likely occur in November of this year, much sooner than originally projected by state highway officials.

Lynch originally stated that MDT needed to conduct other studies before a recommendation could be made to install the signals. He later expressed concern that the timing of the installation would be crucial and may necessitate a delay until spring, in order to give commuters ample time to adjust to its presence without having to also contend with adverse winter road conditions.

He also noted concerns over the location of the light, being just north of a hill. Many feared that southbound traffic would have difficulty stopping during icy weather.

Lynch responded to such concerns by giving assurance that the light would employ advanced lighting techniques commonly used at high speed intersections to give motorists more advanced warning that the light will soon change.

At such high-speed traffic lights, the light does not change until all traffic has passed completely through the intersection. The light also remains red for a few seconds longer, on all four sides of the intersection, providing an addition safety window for those who are unable to stop during adverse road conditions.

Lynch said that ultimately, the intersection of U.S. 93 and Montana 82 would require a junior interchange. The interchange, he said, would resolve a number of issues associated with the intersection, by creating an underpass as well as eliminating the dangerous hill.

Some residents felt that a junior interchange should be built immediately, rather than installing traffic signals. However, Lynch stated that such an interchange would not be built until the population warrants one.

When questioned as to whether an intersection would be warranted in the next five years, Lynch said that it would likely take much longer.

"We're still a long way from being able to justify a junior interchange at this intersection," Lynch affirmed, at August forum. "The population will have to grow substantially before such an interchange could be warranted."

Lynch also warned that the community should not expect the stoplight to solve all of the problems associated with the intersection.

"I don't want to mislead anyone to think that a traffic light is going to prevent accidents," he added. "Accidents are still going to occur, for a variety of reasons. The light will simply make the intersection safer for pedestrians."

The work currently proposed for the intersection includes replacing the existing caution light with a full traffic signal. The right-turn lanes from northbound U.S. 93 onto Montana 82 and westbound from 82 onto U.S. 93 will be eliminated, in order to accommodate a button-activated walking signal and painted crosswalks at all four corners of the intersection.

Plans are also underway to modify U.S. 93 to include two through-lanes for north as well as southbound traffic. The speed limit will also change to 55 mph, from the hill to a short distance north of Montana 82 and also for the area between Somers and Lakeside, where residential and commercial access has grown significantly.