Route 30 intersection vote on Morrison council agenda

MORRISON – The Morrison City Council on Tuesday will consider whether to remove traffic lights at a Route 30 intersection and change traffic flow in that area.

The resolution, if approved, would direct Mayor Scott Vandermyde and City Administrator Brian Melton to initiate a process with the Illinois Department of Transportation to remove traffic signals at Genesee Street and Route 30.

The council has been discussing the issue for the past few months, with the age of the traffic lights, the city’s responsibility for them and poor timing as the reasons behind considering their removal.

If they are removed, city officials said, IDOT will require traffic flow changes because of a poor line of site for vehicles turning from Genesee onto Route 30.

The 200 block of Genesee would become a southbound one-way street from Route 30 to Main Street, while the 300 block of Genesee would become a northbound one-way street from Route 30 to Knox Street. That would prevent motorists from turning east or west onto Route 30 or crossing the intersection.

Complicating the discussion have been talks about closing the 200 block of Genesee Street to traffic and possibly developing that stretch into a place for downtown events or a community gathering space.

Petitions have been submitted to the council to show support against changes at the intersection, but the council is unsure as to whether people are against the removal of the lights, the change of traffic flow or the possibility of the one-block closure.

Discussion about Genesee Street and Route 30 intersection improvements also is on the agenda.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Odell Public Library, 307 S. Madison St.