Troy Council discusses street changes, public intoxication, more

At its regular meeting Wednesday, the Troy City Council discussed several items affecting city streets and contemplated future discussion of ways to discourage public intoxication, but no votes were held.

Ballot measure tabled

The council was expected to vote on a resolution for a ballot measure in the November general election that would allow residents to approve or disapprove the sale of a section of Second Street for a proposed expansion of the Town Pump at the intersection of Second Street and Highway 2.

However, the council has not heard from City Attorney Clifton Hayden with the resolution he was asked to draft, said Mayor Dallas Carr.

After a short discussion, the council tabled the matter to the next meeting.

5th Street question open

The Troy City Council discussed possible alternatives to increase safety at W.F. Morrison Elementary School without making Fifth Street one way, but the item was tabled awaiting information from Troy Public Schools Superintendent Jacob Francom.

Mayor Dallas Carr said that he and council member TJ Boswell met earlier that day with Francom and schools maintenance supervisor Keith Hagerty among others to discuss the proposal to make Fifth Street one way.

The proposal, which Francom brought to the council at their June 13 work meeting, would turn Fifth Street into a one-way street from Highway 2 heading north, past the elementary school and to the intersection where it meets Sixth Street just past the tennis courts.

After the group met at the elementary school parking lot and observed traffic patterns on a day when there was no school, Francom was open to options that would not turn the street one way, Boswell said.

The new concept being discussed would instead turn a portion of the current school parking lot and parts of existing islands into a pick-up and drop-off lane separate from the regular flow of traffic.

Carr said Francom was looking at funding, and seemed confident any alterations on school property could be paid for with school funds.

Boswell said that Francom agreed to engage a traffic engineer to do a preliminary layout within the school’s property to determine if they could accommodate a pick-up and drop-off zone.

In addition, the June 13 proposal called for a gate where Sixth Street meets Spokane Avenue north of Spokane.

The gate would be to prevent people from cutting through the school property either intentionally or accidentally, Francom said.

On Wednesday, council member Shawna Kelsey said it may be possible to deal with the issue of people cutting through that area by posting signs, rather than erecting a gate.

She said she thinks it’s likely at least some traffic that passes through the school property is people confused by the traffic pattern and who don’t know it is not a throughway.

Council member Crystal Denton said she likes the idea of potentially increasing security for the school by adding a gate, and the message it would send regarding the security of the school.

During the June 13 meeting, Francom said the gate could be left open outside of school hours and when children may be present traveling to and from school.

On Wednesday, Boswell said that though Haggerty would prefer the gate in the proposed location, the possibility was discussed of moving the gate north about a block — which would still prevent vehicular access to school property, but would do less to restrict access to property to the east of Sixth Street.

Carr said it could also facilitate access to the head start for those dropping off or picking up.

In addition, the schools and city are still discussing the potential of installing a sidewalk along Fifth Street to Highway 2.

Boswell said Francom is looking at school money that could be used to buy materials if the city could provide labor.

Carr noted that if Fifth Street remained two-way, it would leave unaddressed concerns over how difficult it is for drivers entering Highway 2 from Fifth Street on the north side to see cross traffic.

Public intox

While discussing police training, council member Crystal Denton asked Troy Police Chief Katie Davis if the department has been receiving increased calls regarding people under the influence of drugs or alcohol walking the streets.

Davis said that calls have increased, but since there is no state law or city ordinance for public intoxication, the police can do little unless the person is engaged in criminal acts.

Police can offer peopla a ride home, but cannot force them to accept that ride, Davis said.

There was a consensus among council members and with Davis that any ordinance should not in any way discourage people who are intoxicated and being responsible by walking home rather than driving.

The discussion bridged back into training that might be available for Troy Police to help them be better prepared to identify signs someone is intoxicated through various types of drugs, and a public intoxication ordinance was not contemplated further in the meeting.