EMILY KALKA
The Chandler City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to install a temporary four-way stop at the intersection of 9th and Manvel while expediting the process of applying for TAP grants through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to improve the downtown area.
The current stoplights will remain; however, they will flash red at all times. The stop signs will also be flashing, according to the motion by Ward 4 Council Member Robin Crouch. City Manager Jason Orr will contact the District 3 field engineer for ODOT to request the installation.
According to Mayer Kent McVey, ODOT said it should take about two weeks to get the signs in after making the request. Orr said he planned to make the request on Nov. 15, though he wasn’t sure how long it would take to actually get the stop signs in. It could be longer than two weeks with the holidays.
Crouch said that in a meeting with herself, ODOT representatives, the mayor and City Attorney Larry Lenora, they discussed options for the intersection. It was at this meeting that the suggestion of applying for a TAP grant was brought up. Chandler has already received two such grants. The mayor and Crouch suggested that the grant money could be used to fix sidewalks and install more aesthetic lights to make downtown safer at night, as well as install better stoplights at the intersection.
The council also voted to rename Memorial Street from Rt. 66 to the high school to honor CHS alum Jon Gray after his MLB team, the Texas Rangers, won the 2023 World Series.
“I just think that would be our claim to him, in addition to working out some signage around town,” said Mayor McVey. He added that Gray would be in town on Dec. 2 for the Chandler Christmas Parade and help light the tree.
Regarding Oak Park Cemetery, the council voted to put up signs and cones at the entrances during funerals, preventing through traffic at those times. This was proposed by Ward 1 Council Member Rick Evans. Ward 2 Council Member David Burgess pushed to block one entrance, though the option ultimately wasn’t taken to a vote. He voted against the cones and signs along with Ward 3 Council Member Marilyn Young.
“Personally, I don’t think a cemetery at any time should be used as a drivethrough street. That’s what it’s being used at,” Burgess said. “I think one end or the other, as a trial run, needs to be blocked off to prevent people from driving through the cemetery. Period.”
The council also voted to accept City Manager Orr’s recommendation that yield signs be installed along Blaine to slow down traffic. Orr said the signs would be placed as soon as Public Works can fit it into their schedule. He expected that it could be sometime over the next couple of weeks.
The council voted not to realign Allison Street where it meets Rt. 66 and discuss the possible closure of that section of it at a later date. ODOT will be replacing the bridge on Rt. 66 over the railroad, according to Orr, proposing that Chandler either realign Allison or remove that section as it cannot stay where it is. The affected section runs from Rt. 66 to the back entrance of City Hall. Construction on the bridge will not start until after the Centennial celebrations for Rt. 66 in 2026, with completion slated for 2029.
Other motions that passed include the replacement of the second-floor windows in the public library building, the approval of the city manager moving forward with applications for Rt. 66 grants and the acceptance of the lowest bid for a drainage project on 9th Street.