WEST FARGO, N.D. – The City of West Fargo’s Senior Director of Community and Development is proposing to turn an area of the intersection of 5th Street West and 32nd Avenue West into a pedestrian refuge island.
Dan Hanson presented the idea to the West Fargo City Commission last Monday.
“Events and concerts at The Lights have added an extremely popular amenity for West Fargo residents,” he said in his report to the Commission. However, the large volumes of pedestrian traffic generated during events have significantly increased the potential for pedestrian–vehicle conflicts.”
The West Fargo Police Department requested Hanson look at the project.
“Right now, when we have events at The Lights, there is a tremendous amount of people that cross over 32nd Avenue in the location of Fifth Street,” he said. “This has been noticed to be not a safe situation for that amount of people to be crossing without any form of pedestrian crossings.”
Hanson recommended to the commission that they install Rectangular rapid
flashing beacons (RRFB), which give a clear indication to motorists when pedestrians are crossing. The estimated construction cost is approximately $230,000.
The Commission unanimously approved creating the project. An exact timetable of the project is unknown at this time.
