A new speed cart at about Mile 114 on the Parks Highway in Trapper Creek is part of a push for summer driving safety, according to Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Communications Director Shannon McCarthy.
Though the speed carts don’t collect any data, McCarthy says they provide immediate feedback to drivers about their speed. She says higher speeds contribute to more crashes. And that drivers tend to speed where there is less traffic, particularly along more rural stretches of highway. She also says that drivers do respond by slowing down when they see their speed. The speed carts are moved periodically so drivers don’t become complacent.
The Trapper Creek Community Council submitted a letter last fall to the State Legislature requesting that the speeds be reduced on Parks Highway through the Trapper Creek community. State Representative Kevin McCabe says the project will need to go through the Federal Highway Administration, but staff and budget cuts at the federal level have delayed the project.
McCabe says he checked in with the Administration about two weeks ago, but there had been no progress on the Trapper Creek project or several others in the Mat-Su region.
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