Libby OKs safety measures on Mineral Avenue

Cruising the “gut” in Libby is about to become a thing of the past.

Libby City Council recently approved traffic restrictions aimed at making Mineral Avenue a safer place for pedestrians and motorists.

Council unanimously supported placing stop signs at the intersections of Fourth and Sixth streets on the one-half mile thoroughfare. The drag currently has one stop sign at the intersection of East First Street.

They also OK’d a reduction in the speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph from Eighth Street to First Street.

In a memo from Mayor Peggy Williams to councilors, she explained municipalities can control the speed limits on city streets without a traffic study.

“The recommendation was made to begin at Eighth Street versus U.S. 2 because the [streets] committee could not identify a clear location for posting a speed limit sign before Eighth Street,” Williams wrote in the memo.

In addition, LOR Foundation’s Tabitha Viergutz said she’d be willing to fund crosswalk flags up to $10,000. 

City Administrator Sam Sikes said there is no exact timeframe for placing the stop signs.

“That will add at least two weeks to get the materials on hand,” Sikes said. “From there we will set up a date depending on the weather and workload. There are already posts identified for securing the stop signs.”

Sikes said the speed limit signs will be placed near the corner of Eighth Street and Mineral Avenue in the grass between Mineral and the sidewalk heading north.

“We are going to identify a location on the corner of First and Mineral between The Keep and Achievements. It will be a little tricky at First and Mineral making sure to balance visibility and protecting the signpost from being driven into as Achievements parks in that location,” he said. 

TRAFFIC ISSUES on Mineral Avenue were previously a hot topic of discussion at a Nov. 18 meeting of Council.

At that meeting, Libby Police Chief Cody Ercanbrack said he patrolled the area prior to the council meeting. He said he made 15 traffic stops and there were 13 stop sign violations. He also noted there were two speeders, but that the average speed of those 15 drivers was 20 miles per hour.

“Three admitted to driving distracted and one was taken to jail on a warrant,” Ercanbrack said.

Ercanbrack is seeking an ordinance that would prohibit the use and possession of handheld electronic communications devices while operating a motor vehicle, motorcycle, quadricycle or bicycle.  

“While state laws address some behaviors resulting from distracted driving, adopting a local ordinance will strengthen our enforcement capabilities, prioritize public safety and create a safer driving environment for all Libby residents,” Ercanbrack wrote in a letter to the mayor and Council.

His data included figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which stated 3,522 people were killed in distracted driving crashes in 2021, 8% of all traffic fatalities.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, distracted driving contributes significantly to crashes involving teens, with about 39% of high school drivers reporting texting or emailing while driving in the past month.

Distracted driving includes eating, adjusting navigation systems or interacting with passengers. In Montana, there were 240 traffic fatalities in 2022, with many linked to driver inattention. The state Department of Transportation noted that distracted driving is an under-reported factor in crashes, making it difficult to gauge the full impact.

Ercanbrack wrote in his letter, “While some drivers may feel confident and safe using their phones while driving, research shows this perception is dangerously misleading. Studies from the National Traffic Safety council reveal that even hands-free phone use delays a driver’s reaction time to the same extent as having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%, the legal limit for impairing driving.

“Texting or other manual phone use is even more hazardous, increasing the risk of a crash by up to 23 times, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.”

Ercanbrack also said in Montana, a report from the state found that distracted drivers are 3.6 times more likely to be involved in crashes resulting in injury or death compared to attentive drivers.

Ercanbrack said at the Nov. 18 meeting, citing people for distracted driving would be at the discretion of the officer.

“We aren’t trying to be some police state,” he said. “There are many studies showing the increase in distracted driving and our main goal would be to educate the public of the dangers of distracted driving.”

According to the Montana Department of Transportation, 12 cities, two counties and one tribal reservation have banned the use of cell phones while driving.

They include Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Missoula, Hamilton, Cut Bank, Shelby, Havre, Great Falls, Helena, Anaconda/Deer Lodge, Butte/Silver Bow, Bozeman, Billings, Baker and the Fort Peck Reservation.

Whitefish passed its ban in 2011. Columbia Falls passed its ordinance in 2012. 

According to the Montana Department of Transportation, sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent – at 55 mph -of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.

Texting while driving is one of the most dangerous of all distracted driving activities, because it takes a driver’s hands off the wheel and eyes and mind off the road.