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Show Marsac stop sign installed truck lane next? yrv H A Park City man was seriously injured I s. I 5 years ago when the brakes went out I f B in the dump truck he was driving on I X. I Marsac Avenue near Ontario Avenue. 1 I - AVv 7N4 HISTORIC l ' y DISTRICT 2 A West Valley City man was killed on k xjNv II hzk WOOD5JI I AVE A) I Utah Highway 224 near the bw 1 intersection of Marsac and Hillside x:v gEQl ltfl Avenues when the dump truck he was --v u T t -Esq m. MAIW!TB"T driving rolled after its brakes mal- 1 c:7g functioned. J S'grKl ismssZ by CHRISTOPHER SMART Record staff writer A stop sign has been installed at the intersection of Marsac and Hillside avenues and the state may be ready to approve a runaway truck lane in Ontario , Canyon following a fatal truck ac- " ". cident, officials say. I Utah Transportation Depart ment spokesman Kim Morris said the installation of the stop sign was more important to Park City residents and officials than I the agency perceived. "We misread the importance the community put in it," he said Monday in a telephone interview. He added, however, the stop sign installation would have gone ahead, whether or not an accident acci-dent had occurred. On Sept. 9, a 10-wheel dump truck driven by David Deluz, 33, West Valley City, rolled over just south of the Marsac-Hillside intersection. in-tersection. Deluz died at the scene. A similar accident occurred occur-red on the canyon road five years ago, seriously injuring a local i man. Since that time, said Park City Manager Arlene Loble, the municipality has been working toward the construction of a runaway truck lane on Utah Highway 224, which becomes Marsac Avenue. The steep roadway road-way slopes down Ontario Canyon from the mine. Loble contended UDOT has blocked the installation of the truck lane as well as other precautions, including warning signs and widening of the roadway road-way near the accident scene. During the construction season of 1984, Marsac Avenue residents complained to city officials that truck traffic on the street was unsafe. un-safe. The municipality installed a stop sign at the Marsac- Hillside intersection, but the sign was removed by UDOT because the agency said it was responsible for the highway. For at least 18 months, the municipality has been urging UDOT to install a runaway truck lane, according to correspondence cor-respondence between them. But Morris said UDOT still is awaiting a pledge by Park City to provide the gravel for the runaway lane. Although the grading of the runaway truck lane is not in UDOT's budget for the current fiscal year, Morris said he believes UDOT would find the money if Park City notified it gravel would be provided. "We need them to say, 'Yes, we will lay gravel on the graded work.'" Although that correspondence shows the municipality previously previous-ly offered to provide the gravel, as well as the grading for the lane, if UDOT would approve the measure, Loble said she would" respond again to the agency. Earlier, the city gained approval ap-proval for right of way for the emergency lane from United Park City Mines, which owns much of the land surrounding the highway in Ontario Canyon. The truck accident has "served as a catalyst to set off emotions," said Morris. He added the stop sign is a legitimate concern because it is at a dangerous intersection in-tersection near a school bus stop. "Parents had valid frustrations and it took too long to get it (the stop sign) in," he said. However, on the subject of the runaway lane, Morris said the agency has been waiting since June 26 for an answer on whether the city would provide gravel. "We might have responded slowly, but now it's three months for them to respond. UDOT is getting get-ting the dirty end of the stick (when the city is) saying we're not responding." |