Ten Sleep council expresses concerns over new crosswalk

The highlight of the Sept. 5 meeting of the Ten Sleep Town Council was the approval of an amendment to a contract between the Town of Ten Sleep and HDR Engineering Inc. from Gillette.

The contract for the project of extending the water/sewer network in the town was set to award just under $50,000 for the initial phase of the project. The new amendment, which will go into effect at the time of project completion, adds $359,250 to the contract and brings the engineering cost to $489,186. Mayor Ernie Beckley said the total cost of the project is close to $5 million.

Also at the Tuesday, Sept. 5 meeting, council members discussed ramifications of having a Wyoming Department of Transportation-approved crosswalk at the intersection of Pine Street and Third Street The main street was surveyed and this intersection was determined to be the only one in need of a crosswalk; however, WYDOT regulations require no parking zones within 30 feet of the crosswalk, which would reduce the amount of parking available downtown.

Jack Hoffman, District 5 traffic engineer for WYDOT, said in an interview that earlier this summer, WYDOT conducted a crosswalk study at Pine Street and Cedar Street in Ten Sleep. The study showed that a standard pedestrian crosswalk is warranted at the Pine Street intersection near the Ten Sleep Senior Center, but not at Cedar Street, he said.

WYDOT will install a crosswalk on the east side of Pine Street and associated static pedestrian signs on either side of the intersection later this summer.  As part of a crosswalk installation, parking will be restricted 30 feet beyond the crosswalk to improve sight distance for vehicles and pedestrians. The study also found that neither a Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon nor a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon were warranted at the Pine Street location at this time. Pedestrian warrants are based on the number of pedestrians crossing the highway at a particular location and the amount of traffic on the highway, Hoffman explained. 

REPORTS

The Ten Sleep Museum enjoyed an influx of visitors over the weekend of Nowoodstock, bringing in roughly $1,800. A museum representative said that the building would close for the season after Hunter Fest.

Becky Mills with Ten Sleep Ambulance reported that five ambulance staff are currently undergoing advanced trainings.

Todd Harstad, the head of maintenance for the Town of Ten Sleep, wrote a report that he had hired Eric Harstad as a part-time employee to keep up with summer maintenance demands.

Concern was raised about cracked asphalt near the Ten Sleep Senior Center. Beckley said that he was aware of the issue, as well as other areas in the town that are in need of asphalt repair. Beckley said that he was in the process of reaching out to a contractor to handle it.

A building application was approved to construct a new roof atop the school’s duplex units.