First Street Lane Reconfiguration

Project Description

Hwy 144 North and South of Willis is currently a 4-lane undivided roadway
Proposed to be changed to a 3-lane section to match section around Willis
- One lane in each direction with a center turn lane
2016 Volumes Range from 5,000-9,000 Vehicles per Day

Project History

Iowa DOT completed “Statewide Screening for Potential Lane Reconfiguration” report in 2017
- Several roads throughout the state identified as potential for 3-Lane
  - Highway 144 recommended for lane conversion based on vehicle volume and crash history
  - 3-lanes recommended for consideration by IDOT when volumes are less than 16,000 vehicles/day and crash rate greater than state avg.
  - Perry's crash rate is 3 times the state average.
Grant Funding secured to repave & restripe Hwy 144
- Council voted in 2018 to support the grant application

Success in Perry

Success with other 3-lane restriping projects in Perry
- Hwy 144 from Willis to Bateman Restriped in 2016
- Before project this section had 20 crashes in 3-years
  - With 7 injury crashes, including one fatal
- After project this section had 6 crashes in 3-years
  - With no injury crashes
Perry has seen a 70% reduction in accidents

Why This Project?

Concerns from Residents
- Speeding
- Safety/Crash Concerns
  - N. of Rawson St
  - 23 crashes in since 2012
    - 98% of crashes: rear-end, broadside, angle
    - 20% are injury related
Limited Sight Distance when pulling out from side streets
- Lucinda
- Park
From 2013-2017 the First Street Corridor had 71 Crashes totaling $332,060 in Personal Property Damage.

3-Lane Benefits

Improved Vehicle Safety
Improved Pedestrian Safety
Traffic Calming
- Reasonable driver sets the speed instead of the unreasonable driver
Improved Emergency Response Time

Reduced Number of Conflict Points

The main issue is that the left (inside) lane is shared by higher–speed through traffic and left–turning vehicles. Road Diets reduce the number of vehicle–to–vehicle conflict points that contribute to rear–end, left–turn, and sideswipe crashes.