🚧 This page is a work in progress 🚧
This is the official landing page for news and happenings related to the Trainor Gate and F Street intersection in Fairbanks, Alaska. We hope to tell the story and prepare you for the plans ahead! If you have any questions, please contact Jackson Fox at jackson.fox@fastplanning.us.
Asphalt Art has been installed and we are in observation mode!
Use this form to provide feedback
on the Trainor Gate + F Street Pilot Project Installation
This project was featured on the KUAC local newscast on Friday, May 29th. Start listening at about the 6 minute mark to catch it!
The story
This intersection has long presented safety challenges for both drivers and pedestrians, particularly during school arrival and dismissal times. Students and families connected to nearby Ladd Elementary and Tanana Middle Schools have consistently identified the area as difficult and uncomfortable to navigate on foot.
During development of the Safe Routes to School program in 2012, the intersection was identified as a priority location for safety improvements and potential reconstruction.
The current roadway design includes large open turning areas and wide travel spaces that encourage higher vehicle speeds. Even during active school zone hours, drivers frequently travel above the posted 20 mph speed limit.
The intersection’s layout also creates confusion for drivers and challenges for people walking or rolling outside of a vehicle. Observations at the site showed drivers frequently encroaching into crosswalks while waiting for gaps in traffic. Drivers also often roll through stop-controlled approaches near the railroad tracks in order to improve visibility, and the westbound right turn from F Street functions similarly to a slip lane, despite the stop sign.
Additional complexity comes from nearby railroad crossings, school bus traffic, and limited sightlines created by larger vehicles.
In 2023, a student using the crosswalk with a crossing guard present was struck by a driver and seriously injured. The incident reinforced long-standing community concerns regarding the intersection’s safety.
Tanana Middle School student sustains serious injuries after being hit by car
SENSE OF ownership
Because the intersection includes overlapping right-of-way ownership involving multiple agencies, progress toward improvements has historically been difficult to coordinate.
Following a briefing on the intersection’s conditions, City of Fairbanks Mayor Mindy O’Neall requested renewed attention to the corridor through the Metropolitan Planning Organization process.
Fairbanks mayor urges renewed efforts for Trainor Gate Road safety improvements
Since then, FAST Planning has partnered with Tanana Middle School staff and students to collect data at the intersection in preparation for a temporary Asphalt Art demonstration project.
Over approximately 40 hours of field work, students and FAST Planning staff gathered information related to:
- vehicle speeds,
- turning movements,
- pedestrian activity,
- and driver yielding behavior.
The team also collected time-lapse and aerial footage to better understand how the intersection currently operates.
THE DATA
Alongside the student data collection effort, Alaska DOT&PF collected counts and movements. We’ve provided their counts for those times and days here.
We are currently organizing and processing the data collected by students during the study period. You can view scanned PDFs from observation day here:
THE pilot
FAST Planning is coordinating with the Walkability Action Institute, City of Fairbanks, Alaska DOT&PF, Alaska Railroad Corporation, United States Army, and Fairbanks North Star Borough School District to implement a temporary Asphalt Art project at the intersection.
The project is intended to:
- visually narrow the roadway
- shorten crossing distances
- improve visibility for pedestrians and bicyclists
- and test lower-cost safety strategies within existing right-of-way constraints.
The green areas shown in the concept images represent proposed curb extensions and space reallocation within the intersection. Artwork incorporated into the project will be inspired by submissions from students involved in the study process.
Pan around our Project Miro Board to see the alternatives we’re representing with the Asphalt Art initiative!
Vertical delineators (flexible posts) will also be installed around the treatment area to increase visibility and reinforce slower vehicle speeds. See examples from other cities below.
Read about the U.S. Design Guidelines on Asphalt Art, what the MUTCD 11th Edition says about it, and more.
While Asphalt Art is not a permanent or year-round solution, the project is intended to serve as a short-term safety and awareness measure while longer-term improvements are developed.
FAST Planning is also exploring additional winter-focused treatments, including snow-scaping strategies and a projected crosswalk.
PATHWAY TO PERMANENCE
The City of Fairbanks intends to nominate this intersection for permanent reconstruction through FAST Planning’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) process.
If prioritized through project scoring and funding allocation, the project could advance within the TIP’s five-year funding cycle.
Additional semi-permanent improvements are also planned following installation of the Asphalt Art project. Alaska DOT&PF and the City of Fairbanks plan to install:
- speed tables on approaches to the intersection
- additional crosswalk signage
- band a flashing yellow beacon active during school hours.