Following a hit-and-run crash at Mitchell Road and Chestnut Drive last month, the Eden Prairie City Council is evaluating ways to make crosswalks safer for pedestrians.
The crash happened Aug. 21, when a vehicle struck a mother and two of her children in a crosswalk. Police said the driver fled. The mother and one child were treated and released, while a 2-year-old girl, Somaia Kamawal, remains hospitalized in serious condition. Investigators have executed a search warrant, but no charges have yet been filed as of Tuesday.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Public Works Director Robert Ellis presented information about increasing the number of Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) at crosswalks around the city. RRFBs are pedestrian-activated, rectangular flashing LED lights used at uncontrolled crosswalks to alert drivers to pedestrians in the road.
Ellis said studies show placing RRFBs at crosswalks increases compliance rates on roads from 20-30% to 80-90%.
“There’s no doubt it’s statistically significant data that shows that these devices do work,” Ellis said.
Ellis said Eden Prairie has about 5,200 intersections and determines how and where to mark crosswalks based on the city’s pedestrian crossing guidelines. The city has 388 marked crosswalks and eight RRFBs.
With the city’s current guidelines for RRFBs, however, all crosswalks that qualify for one have already been used, Ellis said. The city is already installing two RRFBs from a previous project at Dell Road and Cascade Drive, and at Anderson Lakes Parkway and Amsden Way.
For a crosswalk to qualify for an RRFB, he said, the city tracks the number of pedestrians per hour, with at least 20 considered preferable. Children, older adults and people with apparent disabilities are each counted as two or more when monitoring crosswalks.
The city also considers nearby landmarks such as schools, parks and transit stations when evaluating crosswalks, Ellis said. Staff also look at whether another crosswalk is nearby that pedestrians could be directed to instead.
Ellis said 9,000 vehicles must pass through a crosswalk each day for it to qualify for an RRFB. If the threshold were lowered to 5,000 vehicles a day, about 21 more crosswalks would be eligible, including the intersection of Mitchell Road and Chestnut Drive.
At the Sept. 2 council meeting, where Ellis first discussed pedestrian safety measures, Council Member Lisa Toomey suggested considering crash history at different crosswalks when determining whether to implement an RRFB. Ellis said this was possible.
More intersections may be eligible, but the city would need to conduct more monitoring, Ellis said. Other crosswalks that would likely qualify for RRFBs include those at Valley View Road and Constitution Avenue, Anderson Lakes Parkway and Franlo Road, and Valley View Road and Edenvale Boulevard.
He said RRFBs are expensive and could take time to implement. Each unit could cost up to $40,000, depending on whether other changes are needed at the intersection, such as Americans with Disabilities Act compliance or drainage work.
Adding upward of 20 more RRFBs could cost up to $840,000, Ellis said.
“This isn’t something that we could do overnight,” Ellis said. “It might take several years, but I think it would be a reasonable approach to addressing safety at these intersections like Mitchell and Chestnut and some other ones that start to fall into this RRFB category.”
Ellis said the city could start installing more RRFBs as early as 2026, when the next budget year begins. The process will likely take between two and four years to complete.
The city may be eligible for grants to pay for some of the RRFBs, Ellis said. It received grant funding for the two newest RRFBs with help from the police department.
Only Council Members Kathy Nelson, Lisa Toomey and PG Narayan were present at Tuesday’s meeting.
City Manager Rick Getschow said the council did not need to make a decision at Tuesday’s meeting and that the issue may return at an October council meeting.