Council asks state to approve Nucleus stop sign

The Columbia Falls City Council wants to make Nucleus Avenue safer for pedestrians.

To that end, the city will ask the state to install at least one set of stop signs on the street. The proposed intersections are at Sixth Street West and Fifth Street West.

Pedestrian safety along the street has been a topic of conversation at City Council meetings for several months.

Councilman Dave Petersen has been looking for a solution to improve walking traffic between uptown businesses.

“Seventh to fourth are the critical blocks for pedestrian safety issues,” he said. “Pedestrians go side to side when shopping Nucleus.”

Originally, the council looked at installing pedestrian crossing signs in the middle of the street, but that proved to be too expensive. City Manager Bill Shaw suggested adding one or more four-way stop intersections to the street to slow traffic.

The council agreed that Sixth Street West and Fifth Street West both receive the majority of the driving and walking traffic.

Glacier Discovery Square sits to the west between the two streets. An increasing number of community activities are held at the square.

Peterson pointed to the Farmers Market in the summer and the Oct. 29 Halloween Carnival as two events held at the square that increased traffic and made crossing Nucleus Avenue difficult.

Smith’s Food, located on the east side between Fifth Street West and Fourth Street West, was also noted as a place with high traffic and walking numbers.

“That’s a congested area with Smith’s parking lot,” councilman Harvey Reikofski said.

The City Council Nov. 1 directed Shaw to ask the Montana Department of Transportation to add at least one stop sign intersection to the street. Nucleus Avenue is a state road.

“Where’s the safety issue to slow things down? I think that’s Sixth,” Peterson said.

“I think Sixth is the obvious spot,” Mayor Don Barnhart agreed.