We, the concerned citizens of Sandborn, as signed below, demand the immediate removal of the traffic delineator devices that were recently installed by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).

Background:

Recently, as part of a “Pilot Program” , INDOT installed traffic delineator devices alongside State Road 59 (Also referred to as Anderson Street) through Sandborn, Indiana 47578.

As quoted by an INDOT representative : “This is one of our pilot programs where we are looking to improve pedestrian safety and slow traffic. The use of the delineator barriers is help reduce the speeds within our urban areas. The idea is to  visually shrink the roadway which will then create slower speeds through the town. We understand this may seem as an inconvenience, but hopefully this will be one way to increase our public safety through our urban areas.”

While the residents of Sandborn understand and agree with concerns regarding traffic speed through town limits, this form of engineering control is inappropriate for the location. Furthermore, the installation of said devices have caused additional safety concerns that were not previously a concern.

 

INDOT designates an “urban area” as an area with a population between 5,000 and 49,999 people. Sandborn is a small community with less than 500 citizens, with deep ties to an agricultural industry as well as being home to a large manufacturing facility.

The installation of said devices have made it difficult, if not impossible, for large agricultural equipment, semi trucks , emergency response vehicles, other large vehicles, and residential vehicles towing trailers to safely navigate the affected roads without considerable difficulty or damage to said vehicles.

The narrowing of the approaches to secondary roads off of Anderson Street have also presented hazards and safety concerns of their own. Due to the narrowed lane width, the average vehicle can not safely navigate through the turn while another vehicle is present in the roadway waiting to proceed. This causes traffic to back up as cars wait to proceed, and in some cases, vehicles must physically reverse to allow additional room for the turning vehicle. Large vehicles and vehicles with large turning radiuses, such as those pulling trailers can not navigate through these turns without physically striking the delineator poles, potentially causing damage to the vehicle.

Additionally, while INDOT has aimed to increase pedestrian safety, they have caused additional safety concerns by physically blocking the shoulder to Anderson Street to through traffic at the designated locations.  Other than foot traffic that can traverse the sidewalks, all other forms of movement such as bicycles, scooters, golf carts and lawn mowers now must enter and exit the travel lanes of Anderson Street and are at increased risk of an accident with a much larger and faster motor vehicle.

 

With all of the reasons noted above, we the citizens of Sandborn, hereby request the immediate removal of the traffic delineator devices throughout our town. We believe that we have presented ample evidence as to why this program is not appropriate for our location, and INDOT should cease the program immediately within our town. 

INDOT works with local municipalities to successfully implement programs throughout the state. However, in this case, it seems that ample public feedback was not requested before the program was implemented. As such, we the citizens hereby provide the following signatures as our feedback to the State of Indiana, regarding the program.