You can expect an update on your service request on approximately 2018-10-24T18:28:44.

Agree with the above post.

And all of red cones and barricades in the north bound lanes you can’t see if kids crossing in the south crosswalks on Fairlawn!!

The crossing at 25th and Fairlawn is unsafe for children to cross. Children within McClure boundaries include the west and east side of Fairlawn. It is important we value the safety of our children and provide a safe environment in which they can safely get home from school. Please consider a speedy resolution in this matter.

You can expect an update on your service request on approximately 2018-10-31T18:28:00.

This has been resubmitted to Engineering. Please allow 48 business hours to respond.

Thanks for submitting your observation. We will inspect this issue in-person and determine what action may be necessary.

You can expect an update on your service request on approximately 2018-11-21T18:28:00.

Interesting that they have until November 21 to respond. Almost another month. :(

Typical Topeka City response — “Kick the can down the road”

Upon initial investigation, the push-control for the North-South ped crossing signal was inoperative and was replaced today.

The traffic light was then checked for proper function and was verified to be working correctly. When pedestrians are signalled to cross Fairlawn legally, North-South traffic has a red STOP signal.

Regarding the barricades, they are in-place to keep traffic off of the portion of street which has been compromised by a fractured sewer line. When the repair to the sewer line is complete, the street can be repaired and fully re-opened.

Upon inspection of the barricades, they are within specifications.

The traffic light is functional, but does not address why this area does not have a flashing school zone sign indicating 20 mph for a school zone. Many areas throughout the city with lower speed limits than Fairlawn have these flashers for the school zone. Please consider placement of these flashers on Fairlawn for children walking home. It's necessary for the safety of our kiddos. Let's be a pedestrian friendly community.

City of Topeka - all within specifications. That doesn't respond to the person who posted that kids are not able to be seen because of the barricades and cones. Doesn't address that at all. WI do not see any response to the fact that it is 1 1/2 blocks from school with NO "SCHOOL ZONE SPEED LIMITS" AND "NO SCHOOL ZONE SIGNS" Why are some kids so important that there are flashing lights, school zone signs, lights for cross walks??? WHY??? This doesn't make sense. Your response might be "within specifications", but it doesn't take care of the SAFETY ISSUES. Who do I need to talk to now??? Equal safety for all students. What is good for the kids on Wanamaker is good for the kids on Fairlawn. Period. The end of better treatment, safer treatment for some kids in some neighborhoods doesn't work anymore. A possibility is to take some of the school crossing signs and flashing lights from the 501 schools that have been closed and put there where there are students going to school. Waiting for a response. Please respond quickly as to the unequal treatment of the school children.

Please complete this project. It start about 1 week before school started and it is still ongoing with no change. I know at least 4 children as young as 8 crossing at this intersection. They are small and hard to see, and the construction is obstructing their view too. I crossed this intersection with children last year and a car ran the red light, so it was dangerous enough even without the construction. Please help our children cross safely.

Working stop signals and baricades being "within specifications" does nothing for the people that do not pay attention to signals and have no regard for other peoples children. The fact that there hasn't been a school zone on Fairlawn has always been outragious to me but now, with the construction, people flying down the road preoccupied and waiting until last minute to merge, that red light is ran often therefore making a stop signal and crosswalk an irrelevant response to the original poster's concern! Since when is the bare minimum acceptable when childrens lives and safety is concerned?! Please consider adding a school zone and completing the construction as swiftly as possible, it should not take an actual accident to happen to get an acceptable response from our city, ESPECIALLY when it involves children!

What about all the other signs around schools that are no longer open. Would the city consider moving those signs to places WHERE REAL CHILDREN ARE GOING TO SCHOOL??? Just seems like a no brainer. I know it would make sense, so I know it will take years longer. Wondering if you need some parents, grandparents, school personnel to help? Please let us know. I know I can get some people together to help with this. We all do not want to be the person who stood by and said it was dangerous and have child hit. It is a situation that would be horrible for the child, the child's family, the child's teacher and class, the person who hits the child, their family, their friends. We CAN NO LONGER SIT BY AND DO NOTHING. This is an EQUAL RIGHTS AND SAFETY situation. If one school's children are important enough to have flashing lights, signs, and safety situations in place, it is good enough for ALL STUDENTS - NO MATTER WHAT SCHOOL!!! PLEASE let me know if I should get some help together to place these signs. I am sure I have people who value children and will donate time and energy. If there is a cost, I can find people to donate to this also. Please stand up for our kids.

Mr Coen,
Could you get this handled by November 6 ????

I guess not.

Thanks for your patience. This issue has many facets to it (Storm Water, Signals, Streets, Temporary Traffic Control), and we have been meeting with the appropriate entities over the last few weeks as we try and come to a solution. Expect more information on this issue shortly.

Thank you for your continued patience. We have been gathering information from many sources and are continuing to define issues at this intersection. It will take time to develop potential solutions or changes to this area. In the short term, modifications to the crosswalk at 25th street will be employed while the upcoming sewer replacement work is underway. This work is slated to begin in the next week. Please continue to monitor this thread and give constructive information and feedback on progress.

Thank you so much for your time Kristina Ericksen. Sitting down and talking about the safety of our children helps so many people. I appreciate your ideas on making this crosswalk a safer place for all pedestrians. The city is lucky to have you on board. I look forward to seeing the brighter crosswalk crossing paint or whatever you use to make it safer. I look forward to hearing about the city's plans in the future. We are in good hands. I do want to reiterate my feelings about the city's work on the roads as I so appreciate everyone's hard work to make our city a better place. Thank you for contacting USD 501 to find ways to keep our children safer. You have really thought of all the ways to approach this situation. I look forward to your future work. Keep up the great job. Knowing you have an incredible job ahead of you. Thank you for meeting after work hours and visiting with this grandmother and my daughter-in-law. Knowing I can get a little outspoken when it comes to children and their safety.

You can expect an update on your service request on approximately 2019-02-28T18:28:00.

Construction on Fairlawn had been delayed due to weather and should be in place today. Also, for those of you following this thread, I wanted to provide a link to the Safe Routes to School website. Perhaps the information will help you facilitate conversations with other parents, your school(s), and with us here at the City.

http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/introduction/index.cfm

During construction, we will be spot checking traffic and pedestrian crossing to assist in developing solutions for the area. Thank you again for your feedback.

What does it mean by "Emergency Closure" at this construction location. Please let me know if the sidewalk (along the east side of Fairlawn construction) is open for kids to walk, and if so, is it safe for my children to walk along this emergency closure.

The unexpected closure of the additional lanes became necessary upon excavation, which uncovered additional road sub-grade concerns. Although the traffic pattern in the street needed to be altered, sidewalks are still open. As posted, pedestrians are encouraged to use the crosswalk at the SW 25th signal to cross Fairlawn.

You can expect an update on your service request on approximately 2019-05-31T18:28:00.

The project to place permanent pavement in the northbound lane that was torn up in December will be coming next month, assuming the weather warms enough to produce the paving materials. Later in the spring , when the pavement temperatures are high enough, we will place new pavement markings at the 25th street crosswalks (only on the Fairlawn legs) and retroreflective material on the signal heads for the Fairlawn approaches to improve visibility of both the signals and the crosswalks for Fairlawn traffic.

I will leave this thread open for comments until after both are installed, so please feel free to give constructive feedback. I hope to have the work done in April, but weather may push it to May.

You can expect an update on your service request on approximately 2019-06-28T18:28:00.

Just an update. The contractor was prepared to do the work in May but we held them off due to the 21st Street closure and the significantly disrupted traffic patterns. Striping will commence as soon as we can reschedule the contractor. The retroreflective material will be on the signal heads about the same time, if not sooner. Thanks again for your feedback and continued interest in this intersection.

You can expect an update on your service request on approximately 2019-07-26T18:28:00.

The crosswalks at this intersection were repainted last week with a long life retroreflective pavement marking that should enhance visibility of the crosswalk for several years. We will be adding retroreflective strips to the signal head back plates. That work will happen at the same time we do this for the 28th and Fairlawn signal. Thank you!

Long life pavement markings have been installed for the crosswalks and retroreflective sheeting has been applied to the signal heads so that we can enhance visibility of both.

Thank you all for your comments and concerns. As this next school year winds up, please take time to walk or ride the route to school with your kids and see http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/ for more info.

Thank you for submitting this request (#86231). It has been addressed and is now closed. If you have any questions, please call us at 785-368-3111.