Proctor Debuts Temporary Road Project to Test a Potential Permanent Future Design

The hope is to encourage traffic to slow down, reduce possible confusing traffic movements, and increase visibility for pedestrians and drivers to see each other.

PROCTOR, Minn. – A temporary demonstration project was installed at two intersections in downtown Proctor to test a more permanent design for the future.

The goal is to narrow the entire width of the drivable road at two intersections: 5th avenue and 2nd street leading to the high school, the other at Hwy. 2 and 2nd street.

The temporary projects are curb extensions.

The hope is to encourage traffic to slow down, reduce possible confusing traffic movements, and increase visibility for pedestrians and drivers to see each other.

It’s all part of the Proctor Transportation Plan which is designed to define what the community would like in the future.

“This is visible, people will see it, they’ll wonder what it is and that will gain their attention and at each location, we are going to have a survey link to explain these projects and the proctor transportation plan that we are doing,” said James Gittemeier, the principal planner for the Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council.

The curb extensions consist of burgundy paint, white lines, and large white posts cutting down on confusing traffic movements involving turn lanes.

The posts will be taken away before the snow falls and the paint will wear away over the winter months.

“We have found, overwhelmingly, drivers say hey I needed to slow down or it caused me to slow down…so going forward we see more community support for things like this as people especially now during the pandemic more people are out they’re not going to gyms so they’re walking around,” said Jimmy Shoemaker, a senior planner at Alta Planning and Design.

The Proctor Transportation Plan will be completed by the end of this year.

Survey results from the demonstration project will be included in that plan.