December 21, 2016

TO:
Jackson Hole News & Guide, Letters to the Editor

WYDOT should be commended for developing and accelerating its planned improvements to the Y Intersection. With this interim measure that is expected to last for up to 15 years, WYDOT has taken two important steps forward: (1) adding a second left-hand turn from US 89 north to WY 22 westbound; and (2) installing new signals that will provide more accurate traffic data and the ability to manually change the signal timing to address actual traffic patterns. In the summer of 2015, when the Integrated Transportation Plan (ITP) was under consideration, the vast majority of community members providing public comment strongly urged that changes to the Y Intersection be made first, before designing or constructing any new residential county roads. The community consistently spoke with many voices to ask that buses, trucks, and cars traveling on WY 22 and US 89 remain on those state roads rather than be diverted into residential neighborhoods through new county built bypasses.

While WYDOT and the County have yet to collect or analyze updated traffic data promised when the ITP was adopted, the Responsible Growth Coalition hired a nationally recognized traffic expert to help us understand and analyze the considerable traffic data on the Y that currently exists. Our organization is a local non-profit whose mission is to raise public awareness concerning planning and transportation issues in Teton County and the Town of Jackson. www.responsiblegrowthjh.org. We learned that WYDOT maintains Automatic Traffic Recorders at locations north, south, and east of the Y Intersection that operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. WYDOT made this traffic data for 2008 through 2015 available to us. We asked our expert to analyze that data and provide his observations to us. (2016 data was not yet available at the time).

Our expert reviewed the data and found that traffic volumes at the Y were generally flat between 2008 and 2014 with a small uptick in 2015 and most of the highest traffic hours occurred in the summer months and in the late afternoon. He recommended a number of cost effective, simple solutions to alleviate the traffic congestion at the Y: (1) addition of a second left-hand turn for vehicles from Highway 89 heading north onto WY 22 through the Y; and (2) installation of adaptive smart signal technology at the Y and related intersections that will adapt to traffic patterns without manual intervention.

See full report: Review of Traffic Data at the Y Intersection – May 2016

WYDOT’s planned changes to the Y are a good step in the right direction. Use of adaptive signals would be preferable, but WYDOT’s new signals will provide the information needed to manually adjust the timing of the signals at the Y to address congestion.

Concerns have been raised about the impact of these planned changes to surrounding town streets. Those concerns are real and need to be addressed by WYDOT and the County with updated traffic data, thoughtful design, and coordination to enable safe and convenient use of Buffalo Way, Scott Lane and Maple Way. The only redirection proposed by WYDOT is the closure of Buffalo Way to traffic heading west straight onto WY 22. This change would appear to affect a small number of vehicles who have alternative routes to access WY 22.

WYDOT’s planned changes to the Y show responsiveness to community input. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Lance Cygielman
Michele Gammer
Geoff Gottlieb