County Unveils Three Proposals to Avert Accidents on Shackelford

Shackelford Road between Charbonier Road and Humes Lane has one of the highest accident rates of any St. Louis County road.

From 2008 to 2010, there were more than 250 accidents on the road.

“Almost 60 percent of those accidents are rear end accidents,” said St. Louis County Highways and Traffic Department spokesman David Wrone. “You have people turning left and somebody behind them are not paying attention and run into them.”

About 30 percent of the accidents involve injuries, a county highway department handout states.

The Highways and Traffic Department hosted an open house Wednesday in Florissant’s to unveil three proposed plans to reduce accidents. About 200 people attended the event.

During the open house, residents could look over maps and plans detailing the proposals and leave comments. To view maps of the proposed solutions, see the St. Louis County Highway and Traffic Department website.

Solution No. 1: Two-way Center Left Turn Lane

Shackelford Road would be widened from four to five lanes between Charbonier Road and Humes Lane. The center lane would be a two-way, left-turn lane.

“The justification would be that this gets all the left-turning traffic off the through lanes, which would eliminate those accidents,” said Adam Spector, engineer and project manager for the department.

The downside is the county would have to buy 7 feet of property on both sides of the road “from everybody along the corridor,” Spector said.

Solution No. 2: Roundabouts

A median would divide Shackelford Road from Charbonier Road to Humes except at the four intersections at Charbonier, Lindsay Lane, Mullanphy Road and Humes Lane, which now have traffic lights.

Instead of traffic lights, two-lane roundabouts would be built at each of the four intersections.

Most property owners along the corridor would not lose any land, which makes this a cheaper option. However, at the four intersections, more property would be needed to make room for the roundabouts.

Wrone said roundabouts also provide free-flowing traffic without signalized stops at intersections. However, roundabouts get some resistance from some drivers.

“Usually, after one or two times through a roundabout, people get the hang of it, and it’s really easy,” Wrone said.

Solution No. 3: U-turns

As with solution No. 2, a median would divide Shackelford from Charbonier to Humes. However, instead of roundabouts, Spector said the department would use U-turn lanes, also known as “jug handles,” at the four major intersections.

The U-turn lanes are used on Lindbergh Boulevard between St. Charles Rock Road and Manchester roads.

There would be two through lanes on Shackelford, and left turns would be prohibited. Most residents would lose no property, but the department would have to buy private property for the U-turn lanes.

Residents’ Opinions Count

During Wednesday’s event, residents were able to leave comments on the projects.

“We’ll take people’s comments and make them part of the record and take them into consideration,” Wrone said. “We won’t force something on residents that’s universally disliked.”

Frank Silvester of Florissant said he thinks better timed signal lights would help because most accidents on Shackelford are from drivers’ inattention or frustration.

He said he’s also been in areas where roundabouts have been used effectively.

“During heavy traffic times, it’s a merge situation, and you’re dealing with high amounts of traffic going north and south,” Silvester said. “If everybody’s courteous, it’s the best plan.”

Brian Whitman, also of Florissant, said he was for whatever option was best for bicyclists because he often rides his bike along Shackelford.

Spector said that each of the plans allow for a 13-foot-wide outer lane specifically for cyclists.

“That’s the minimum we allow for Great Rivers Greenway to put up their cycling signs,” he said.