WOODLAND — The city of Woodland is considering changing an intersection at the corner of North Goerig Street and state Highway 503.
After working with the Washington State Department of Transportation, Woodland officials were given two options for the intersection: install a median and pylons to prevent left turns at the intersection, or close off access to Goerig Street completely by building a cul-de-sac.
Currently, the Y-shaped intersection allows drivers heading toward Highway 503 to make a left onto Goerig. Drivers on Goerig have a stop sign, the only one at the intersection, and can continue on straight or try to make a left onto 503.
The city council discussed the issue at Monday’s meeting. Mayor Will Finn asked the council to take action and pick one of the two options the department of transportation suggested, or do nothing.
The council opted to take no action, Finn said. Instead, the council discussed a new option: create a temporary closure stopping drivers from making left turns onto and off of Goerig.
With the temporary closure, Finn said, if there’s an emergency in another part of town, Goerig could open back up to alleviate traffic elsewhere or to re-route traffic if needed.
Finn said he also would like to see the intersection realigned, so people making right turns from Goerig have better lines of sight.
The next step is to go back to the department of transportation and see if the council’s idea is viable. If it is, the council will seek public input on the decision.
The city council hosted a public hearing at its May 2 meeting, and the residents were mixed about which option they preferred. Finn said residents seem evenly split on whether they want the intersection closed.
Nearby residents said they wanted to close the intersection at Goerig to stop cars from speeding around the residential area, where kids play outside. If that’s what the city opts to do, drivers would have to head to East Scott Avenue and use the roundabout to get onto 503.
Some residents are worried about how closing the intersection would impact traffic at the roundabout.
Sandy Larson, who lives near the intersection, said she doesn’t want the cul-de-sac built.
“It just seems like it’s going to limit access to people and make more traffic,” she said. “I don’t see it as a solution to anything.”
Larson, who was on the city’s planning commission for 18 years, 15 as its chairwoman, said she is concerned about the impact on residents.
“The people on the street wanted it closed off,” she said. “The people who have lived here (for a long time) and understand how the road is used, they didn’t want it closed at all.”
Larson also was concerned about how closing Goerig would impact police response. The police department moved into a new station at the corner of Goerig and Scott in 2013. If police need to head south to respond to a call, they’ll have to head east first to get to the roundabout and then onto 503, she said.
“(Goerig) is a straight line to them,” she said. “It puts them more into the action than having to go around.”
Finn said he spoke with the police and fire departments about the intersection, and both said impact on their services would be minimal. If the city builds a cul-de-sac, it would need to be wide enough for a fire truck to turn around.
Another resident who doesn’t want the intersection closed is Bryce Miller, who owns the Farmers Insurance agency on Goerig. His father, David Miller, bought the building about 20 years ago, and it sits a few houses down from the intersection on Goerig.
“It would kill our business,” Bryce Miller said. “We’d be at the end of a dead-end road. We bought that property 20 years ago to be a commercial property. It would be devastating for us.”
