City to provide added traffic control for Highway 3 detour

Le Mars City Administrator Scott Langel and Le Mars City Council members agreed Tuesday that additional orange "temporary" stop signs are necessary for the detour which will likely begin Monday as the Highway 3 widening project gets underway.

The portion of Highway 3 being closed for work runs from First Street Northeast to Park Lane, the north golf course entrance.

The detour may be pushed back a day or two due to rainy weather this week slowing down the work of contractors.

Steps for the sign installation will be taken immediately, Langel said.

City council members also recommended increased police traffic enforcement with use of speed detector equipment in the area of Plymouth Street and Ninth Avenue.

The recommendations followed a report by City Code Enforcement Officer Jason Vacura who has received calls from concerned citizens in the 800 and 900 blocks of Plymouth Street about the expected increase in traffic in the detour area.

Individuals, Vacura said, expressed concern over possible traffic hazards when backing from their driveways, especially with non-local motorists unfamiliar with streets in the community.

Another of the concerns with the detour route pertains to low hanging tree branches and limbs that could result in damage to taller vehicles or equipment on such vehicles.

Langel, explaining the city's responsibility for tree problems of this type on the city's arterial streets, said crews would be working on the problem.

Langel, along with city council members, called on local residents to do needed safety trimming on their property.

Vacura emphasized that property owners are responsible for the maintenance of trees on their property between the city street and sidewalk according to city code.