BROOKINGS A heavily traveled, 2.5-mile segment of 214th Street between Brookings and Aurora is now officially under the jurisdiction of Brookings County.
Last week, and Im sure maybe a few of you have noticed, we started working on our new road, Highway Superintendent Brian Gustad told commissioners at Tuesday mornings Brookings County Commission meeting. We mowed the shoulders, graded, and weve started putting down some gravel.
The improvements to that stretch of road also known as county Road 16A come after Trenton and Aurora townships petitioned the county to take it over. The townships felt they could no longer properly maintain it, especially with the opening of a third route Exit 130, to be precise into Brookings from Interstate 29 that further increased the roads traffic levels. The secretary of the South Dakota Department of Transportation signed off on the transfer on May 8, according to Commission Department Director Stacy Steffensen.
Gustad pointed out a few other changes on 214th Street/county Road 16A:
- The speed limit will be set at 45 mph. Gustad pointed out that that is consistent with other county roads in the vicinity.
- Stop signs have been placed at its intersection with 475th Avenue to allow for through traffic, essentially making it a two-way stop for traffic using the avenue.
In another road-related matter, Gustad said Aurora has started construction work on the side roads leading to Broadway Avenue also known as county Road 23 with the closing of the avenue tentatively set for June 17. Sewer improvements are among the overall goals of the work being done in Aurora in the months ahead.
BATA update
Commissioners also heard good news from Travis Bortnem, the executive director of Brookings Area Transit Authority. Basically, business is booming.
He said BATA is extremely busy, and that, since Oct. 1, it has provided 98,000 rides, with most of those in Brookings County.
Bortnem added that the BATAs services continue to be popular with young riders, even after accounting for the in-town busing provided by the Brookings School District.
It cut us back a little bit, but were so far above last years numbers I think were up almost 9,000 rides over last year so far this fiscal year, he said.
Regarding BATAs former home on the grounds of the county highway shop at 422 Western Ave., Bortnem expects to have an appraisal done no later than the first part of June.
We should have that so we can have a better idea of the value on that, he said.
As for remodeling efforts at BATAs new home the former Falcon Plastics building at 1313 Western Ave. bid openings indicate a substantial completion date of Oct. 17.
So, Id like to say that building is available earlier than that, but I do need a place to wash my vehicles yet, Bortnem said about BATAs old home. And, probably a heads up for anybody that theyre probably going to see a few vehicles parked over there during some of this construction. Its a pretty quick turnaround on their construction, so I dont know how much theyre going to tear up our new building all at one time, so were going to have a lot of vehicles sitting out.
As a further part of the discussion, States Attorney Dan Nelson brought up drunken driving in Brookings County, and BATAs potential role in further reducing it.
Unfortunately, (we) have a lot of it, he said. Drunk driving has increased in the last three to four years by close to 20 percent in terms of the number of drunk drivers that are on the road.
Nelson continued, I just wonder if, is BATA willing to try to work closer with our local drinking establishments, bars downtown, folks over in Volga, to try to bring more awareness that BATA is available as a sober transport home, and just try to figure that out in terms of your guys involvement in availability there.
Bortnem said there is a safe-ride program called Rabbit Ride that runs in conjunction with the Wellness Center at South Dakota State University, and that the center heads it up.
We let people know its for everybody and they kind of let everybody know its for students, he said. We do try and get it out there.
Bortnem added that there was an app SDSU used where students could request rides, but they had a software provider that sold out, and it doubled in price, meaning BATA got less out of it. As such, BATA is trying to get its own software and app out in the public spotlight so rides can be scheduled. The app can be found at batabus.com.
I know we did provide I think it was just over 17,000 rides this last school year under that Rabbit Ride program. Previously, when they had that other app, we peaked at 25,000 rides, he said.
Bortnem said the Rabbit Ride program ebbs and flows in regard to ridership, and that he has a lot of ideas that would make some things better, which would warrant further discussion.
Im open to that, just let me know if theres anything I can do, Nelson said. Our businesses that do serve alcohol, I think part of it is them pushing it as well. I dont know if thats more signs or flyers in the bar or announcements or things like that. I just think that theres a lot of drivers out there that wouldnt maybe drive if they knew that they had a BATA available.
At this point, a what-if came into the conversation: Bortnem said if theres ever a time when there isnt a viable private taxi service in Brookings, it would then be easier for BATA to look at serving nights and weekends outside of current Rabbit Ride efforts since it wouldnt conflict with federal guidelines.
Thats because, as Commissioner Ryan Krogman noted, per federal rules, services like BATA cannot compete with private providers.
So long as there is a private option out there, BATA just cant show up in front of the bar and say, Hey, five bucks! Jump in!, Krogman said. You cant do that.
He said other concerns regarding expanded service at those needed times includes the difficulty in finding drivers, and the fact that a monitor would also be needed to keep an eye on passengers in the bus so that the driver can, well, focus on driving.
They definitely need a monitor, Bortnem interjected. It gets pretty crazy in the back of the bus sometimes.
In closing the discussion, commissioners heaped praise on BATA.
Thanks for the services you provide to the Brookings community, Commissioner Larry Jensen said. At times, for some of these people, its their only option the elderly, the veterans and people getting to the hospital.
Bortnem noted, We know who our ridership is, and its not those that have a vehicle at home. Its those who dont have it and just dont have that opportunity. Nobody knows about it until they need it, and once they find out about it, then its the greatest thing.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
Leave a Reply