Longmont ordinance would prohibit standing on unsafe traffic medians

If You Go: Longmont City CouncilWhat: The City Council will consider initial action on a proposed ordinance prohibiting people from standing on medians at nine specific Longmont intersections.When: 7 p.m. TuesdayWhere: Civic Center Council chambers, 350 Kimbark...

Longmont ordinance would prohibit standing on unsafe traffic medians

If You Go: Longmont City Council

What: The City Council will consider initial action on a proposed ordinance prohibiting people from standing on medians at nine specific Longmont intersections.

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Civic Center Council chambers, 350 Kimbark St., Longmont

Further information: The full council agenda, including links with a staff memo and supporting materials about the proposed medians ordinance, can be viewed at bit.ly/2o8WPuV

People who stand or sit on traffic medians at nine Longmont intersections would risk being ticketed, under an ordinance up for initial City Council consideration on Tuesday night.

Violators convicted of the offense could be ordered to pay a fine of up to $500, or up to a 90-day jail sentence, or both.

The prohibition against people parking themselves on the nine intersections' medians would apply not only to people soliciting contributions or holding signs to demonstrate causes or promote businesses. It would make it illegal for anyone "to access, or occupy, congregate or assemble" on those medians the city staff has identified by the city staff as being unsafe for such pedestrian use.

The proposed ordinance would amend Title 11 of the Longmont Municipal Code's provisions about traffic medians by adding a new chapter 11.39: "Pedestrian Access to Medians."

The city staff reported in a memo to the council that it used accident histories, traffic and roadway conditions and information about median widths to determine locations where the medians are not designed for safe pedestrian use and pose a safety concern.

The staff identified nine intersections as being high-crash locations, intersections where the traffic approaching them and their medians typically travel at 35 mph or higher speeds, and where the medians are less than 6 feet wide.

The nine intersections' medians the staff has suggested being included in the proposed ordinance's standing-on-the-medians ban:

• Medians on the east and west legs of Ken Pratt Boulevard's intersection with Martin Street.

• Medians on the east and west legs of Ken Pratt Boulevard's intersection with Emery Street.

• Medians on the east and west legs of Ken Pratt Boulevard's intersection with Main Street.

• Medians on the east, west and north legs of Ken Pratt Boulevard's intersection with South Pratt Parkway.

• Medians on the east, west and north legs of the intersection of Ken Pratt Boulevard and Hover Street.

• Medians on the west and south legs of the Colo. 66 intersection with Main Street.

• The median on the west leg of Hover Street's intersection with Nelson Road.

• Medians on the north and south legs of Hover Street's intersection with Clover Basin Drive.

• Medians on the north and south legs of Hover Street's intersection with Bent Way.

"Those are medians that generally were not designed to be walked on," city engineering services director Nick Wolfrum said in an interview. "They're not a safe place for pedestrians to linger."

The proposed ordinance contains some exceptions to its no-standing prohibition. For example, a person could temporarily climb onto a median if he or she needs it as a temporary refuge from traffic after being unable to successfully complete the crossing during a green light or pedestrian signal.

Also exempted would be city workers or contractors needing to use the median while performing construction or maintenance chores, as well as public safety personnel engaged in official duties at the intersection.

The proposed ordinance does not specifically target panhandling.

In October 2015, following a U.S. District Court ruling that struck down a Grand Junction panhandling law as violating constitutionally protected speech, Longmont suspended enforcement of two city ordinances — one that prohibited aggressive begging on streets, sidewalks, buildings and other public property, and a second that prohibited solicitations on medians in situations where motorists could not safely move to legal parking areas to make a donation. The City Council formally repealed both ordinances this past February.

The city staff said the new ordinance they're proposing is a safety-based measure listing locations where medians are not designed for safe pedestrian use and where people standing on them pose concerns for both pedestrians and motorists.

Wolfrum said the city staff is trying to focus "on a safety issue on this, and not just what the person may or may not be doing" while on the median.

If the City Council gives preliminary consideration to the ordinance on Tuesday, a public hearing and final council action would be set for May 9.

If the measure is adopted, Longmont would post signs on the nine intersections' medians about the prohibition against standing there and has already gotten the Colorado Department of Transportation's to install the signs on the medians on Ken Pratt Boulevard, which is also Colo. 119, and at the intersection of Colo. 66 and Main Street, which is also U.S. 287.

John Fryar: 303-684-5211, jfryar@times-call.com or twitter.com/jfryartc

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