Tracy Park traffic concerning
By:
Esther Noe
Some shocking news regarding traffic congestion, arguments over right-of-way and even the violent behavior of bicyclists around Tracy Park was presented by area residents to the Hill City Common Council during the meeting Oct. 15.
Dwight Burch said, “I came to Tana (mayor Nichols) because we’re having consistently more and more and more issues with Tracy Park. The people either park their vehicle and unload their bikes in the street or they congregate in the street. All of the bicycle events, and running events and that stuff—it gets so congested that you can’t get through there. Basically, that’s a big issue.”
Additional residents from the area attended the meeting to testify to the problems and offer possible solutions.
“I don’t think it should all fall to the city. I think that the state parks and outdoor recreation people should be involved in policing the area. And the chamber when they’ve got special events, they need to figure out a way to make it so it’s not affecting the people that live up there. There are 77 homes up there, and no one can get in and out,” said Burch.
As an example, Burch said he did not go to Tracy Park the day of the Crazy Horse Run, but it is normally a “zoo.”
“Thank you for taking time for us. I know that this is kind of a sensitive topic for us. And I know a lot of us have been verbally and physically assaulted over this situation,” said Tamela Ross. “It’s easy to come in hot with something like this situation, and we’re trying to avoid that because I think there are solutions where we can all work on it together.”
Ross shared the story of how she and her husband Mark were coming home from a post-opt appointment Thursday, Sept. 19 at 2:30 p.m. At the time, the entire street was closed due to the bikes and riders in the street as well as a bike rental trailer and truck parked on the curb of the road rather than in the parking lot.
“As we pulled up to the crowd, we came to a complete stop. I rolled down the window and asked anyone in hearing distance to please move to the side so we could pass. No one moved. My husband said, ‘Move out of the way.’ Mayhem ensued.
“Through my passenger side window, a man forced his way in through the window, past his upper chest, laying over me, screaming at us to slow down. Actually, slow the F down. We were at a complete stop. Spitting in my face in rage, which I actually had to wipe off my face for asking them to move.”
Ross said the man told them they did not have the right to ask them to move because there was an accident. However, none was evident, and no bikes or people were down. Ross tried to roll up her window but was afraid the man would break it because he was pulling on it and screaming at her.
“I was terrified by the aggressive behavior of this stranger and feared not only for my safety but the possibility of one of them becoming physical with my husband in his fragile state,” said Ross.
Then, a woman rider pulled her bicycle in front of their car, slammed her hands on the hood and screamed, “We have the F-ing right-of-way.” The man, again leaning through the window over Ross, screamed they had an accident. Ross asked if they called 911, and the man said they did not.
Seriously concerned, Ross said she would call 911 for them. So with the woman slamming down on the hood and the man still screaming and spitting, Ross called 911.
“At that point, I believe they realized I was actually on the phone with dispatch. They moved their bikes and themselves a little to the side, but instead of stepping back all the way and letting us pass, they surrounded the car as we drove through and banged on the sides and the windows screaming all the way to the pump house, ‘F you. F you.’
“I would like to tell you this is an isolated incident, but it is not. Although we have never been accosted in such a violent manner before, being flipped off or screamed at for asking them to move out of the center of the street or for driving too close to their bikes, which are unloading in the middle of the street, in order for us to get around out of the way of oncoming traffic, or riders walking out into traffic with absolute ignorance of their surroundings is a daily occurrence,” said Ross.
Another struggle is redirecting riders to the Mickelson Trail when they take a wrong turn and end up on neighborhood streets or properties. Ross said some riders even try to cut through her back yard as a shortcut to the trail. Although some are grateful to be redirected, Ross said others ask “what my F-ing problem is.”
Ross added that encroachment on private property is a violation of bike rental agencies.
“Parking bikes against private fences or trees or sitting on the fences, lounging in our yards is not okay. Bike rental companies unloading folding chairs and tables on the street in the lane of traffic to serve their riders lunch is not okay,” said Ross. “We have ideas for solutions to these issues if you would be so kind to listen. We feel it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt.”
Additionally, Ross said the traffic has likely doubled since the e-bike increased accessibility to the trail.
Alderman Ethan Walker asked if the main issue was event-based. Ross said it was an everyday occurrence for road congestion to reduce the street to one-lane traffic as people unload bicycles and repair them in the middle of the street.
Mary Skillingstad presented the council with a map of the area and the community’s suggested solutions. Tracy Park is located on Newton Avenue, which is the only entrance and exit to the neighborhood.
“In this small community, along with the 77 households, we have two businesses, four Airbnbs, one daycare, one church, a school parking lot, the Burlington Northern Hill City Trailhead for the George S. Mickelson Trail with a parking lot,” said Skillingstad.
In total, there are 30 parking spots for Tracy Park, and the Hill City School District has another 54 that are open to the public, providing a total of 84 parking spots.
“During busy weekends and special events, we constantly have vehicles, vehicles with trailers, bike rental agencies and busses parking on the west side of the street across from the park creating a huge bottleneck for traffic and unsafe conditions with crowds of people and bicycles in the middle of the street.
“We understand that multiple entities are affiliated with Tracy Park and the trailhead, and we are attempting to set up meetings with all involved. However, tonight, we are asking for help from you, our chosen city council members. We do not come before you to complain, but rather to share ideas and solutions to help maintain the safety of our neighborhood and visitors,” said Skillingstad.
The map showed directional arrows on the sidewalk to and from the Mickelson Trail, yellow curbs, a crosswalk, a white line distinguishing parking from the street, informational signs asking visitors to back in to unload, signs stating that traffic has the right-of-way as well as cameras. They also recommended informing all bike rental agencies of parking, unloading and safety requirements.
Additionally, Skillingstad said, “We feel that the same ordinance that keeps people from parking on Poplar Street should apply and be extended to all of Newton Avenue, especially across from Tracy Park.”
Walker asked if there was an order of priority for the suggestions. Burch said the top priority was the line distinguishing the parking area from the street, no parking signs and painting the curb on the west side of Newton as no parking. Burch said signage might help with parking and finding the trail as well.
He added that parking on both sides of the street is too hard, and there are times when you have to fold in car mirrors to get through the street. Ross said that if the fire department or ambulance was called, they would have to slam through all the mirrors.
Skillingstad said her priority was the worry of her neighbors as they navigate the situation.
Public works director Justin Asher said, “We actually put giant yellow bicycles with arrows on the sidewalk all the way from the pavilion at Tracy Park both ways all the way to the trail on each end of town. I don’t know how much more obvious I can get. We’ve noticed that signs don’t help people discover anything.”
Asher also wanted to remind people that yellow curbs signify an unloading and loading zone. Red curbs are no parking zones.
Another concern brought forward by a resident is people parking at the park and doing overnight camping. Ross agreed saying vans pull up, keep their shades closed, stay all night and riders use the public bathrooms. Some residents said people have parked there for a week. Cheryl Honour said they were even plugging into outlets at the park so the city was paying for their stay. Asher said that is why he took the spigot out.
Pennington County Sheriff’s Office senior deputy Jim Waldrop said, “I don’t want to second guess anybody, but since I’ve been here, we’ve allowed people to spend a night or two there in certain circumstances with approval often through the chamber.
“I’ve never seen anything parked there for weeks, and I’ve never known it to be routine. It’s a place we routinely patrol. I’ve never seen where we had people consistently staying there for more than a couple days. And if they do, we usually contact them to figure out what’s going on.”
Nichols said, “To me, the most likely first step would be police patrol.”
The residents in attendance said the deputies could not do anything without directions being posted and the road being established.
One resident with the Business Improvement District board said the signs could be included in the way finding signage project.
Planning and zoning commissioner Scooter Prosneski said he wanted to help the residents because it was getting out of hand. He also suggested that parking information be provided to event organizers and businesses in the area. Nichols asked if this issue was something planning and zoning could look at, and Prosneski said, “Absolutely, I’m all over it.”
After further discussion, Nichols said, “I thank you all so much for coming in and bringing this to our attention. I think Scooter’s on the total right track here. This is a discussion item so we can’t do anything tonight. But if I could ask, Scooter, would you bring this to P and Z? And if you need to put together a committee, maybe a couple from the neighborhood and or Justin, myself, one of the council, two of the council and get a committee together so we can get some real proposals for the next meeting to take care of some of this.”
Everyone agreed to this plan.
On another note, as a citizen rather than a city employee, Asher said he frequents the park with his granddaughter and has watched it explode over the years. He said he felt the trailhead is too small for all the things that go on there.
“I would love to see possibly some discussion on finding an actual trailhead on the trail somewhere and removing that obstacle from that road,” said Asher.
Waldrop agreed that the city had outgrown the space at Tracy Park.
“I can attest to the fact that there’s many weekends when the weather’s really nice, and I go there and it is packed. And they are sticking out in the street. I will say something to them. They will listen to me, but it’s very tough to enforce because there’s no signage and I can’t point to them where the street is,” said Waldrop.
Waldrop does patrol the city parks once during every shift or more if his call volume allows for it and said he would make the other officers aware of the issue.
Burch added, “None of us are trying to shut the tourism off that that brings into town. But the fact of the matter is, there are several entities that are making money from that park—the city, the business owners, the event holders with their admission fees. I’m pretty sure it’s none of the people that live up here. We’re not getting a rebate on our taxes, but we’re the ones that are dealing with the chaos. So we just want somebody that can stand up and start policing these events.”
In other news, Chris Romanjenko with Dakota Asphalt presented the council with an update on the Sunset Creek repaving project since it warrants such interest.
“We got hung up on some contract stuff, in particularly the bond. I think we’ve worked through everything,” said Romanjenko. “We have full intent of getting this project done by the deadline.”
Alderman Justin Thiry asked if the asphalt plants closing for the year was a concern. Romanjenko said the plants will run well into Thanksgiving, and Dakota Asphalt feasibly has about two weeks of work.
“As soon as we get those signed, we’re ready to get started and get this project done for you guys,” said Romanjenko.
During the meeting, the council also approved the appointment of Steve Stucky as a planning and zoning commissioner.
Also on the agenda was the approval of the geotechnical exploration and report for the proposed pavilion at Ponderosa Park.
A project proposal for the geotechnical services was submitted by Alex Fisher with FMG Engineering for the cost of $4,779.
“This is one of the steps that has to be done before the bid process can go out, and they did not have it at the time when the bid was all together. Now that it’s over my spending authority, I’m asking you to approve the amount so we can finish the bid process for that pavilion,” said finance officer Stacia Tallon.
Alderwoman Lori Miner asked how the city came to use FMG Engineering instead of AE2S. Tallon said AE2S was not involved with the project initially, and FMG Engineering was recommended to get the project done in a timely manner.
The council unanimously approved the proposal.
Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Erin Loder also presented a special event request for Olde Tyme Christmas and all the associated components.
“Everything as far as the parade goes and the Kris Kringle (Craft and Vendor Fair) is going to be staying the same,” said Loder. “So we’re just hopeful to get approval for those events.”
The council unanimously approved the request and waived the application fee.
The next meeting of the Hill City Common Council is Monday, Oct. 28 at 5:30 p.m. at city hall.