The Urbana City Council voted Monday night to send a memo requesting that Champaign County remove a sign recently erected outside the County Courthouse that numerous citizens called a safety hazard.

Among those who raised concerns was Samuel Furrer, a counselor at Urbana High School. His Dodge Dakota was sideswiped by a GMC Jimmy while turning left from Elm Street onto Vine Street on Dec. 28, he said. The collision caused $3,000 worth of damage to the truck he and his 12-year old son were driving in, though no one was injured, he said.

Furrer also received a citation for failing to yield at the intersection; however, he will contest the ticket in court, he said.

“It’s a dangerous spot and it needs to be addressed,” Furrer said.

Many people he had spoken with also considered the intersection unsafe, he said.

Alderman Dennis Roberts also read from some of what he said were several e-mails he received asking for something to be done about the intersection. He brought the problems with the intersection to the attention of the city during the City Council’s Jan. 3 meeting after he said citizens in his ward had expressed concerns.

Visibility at the intersection meets legal requirements, said Bill Gray, Urbana public works director.

Alderman Chris Alix said that although the intersection meets minimum requirements, those standards are based on vehicles traveling at the 30 mph speed limit on the road. However, vehicles would fail to meet them at speeds of 35 to 40 mph, which most people travel at on Vine Street, he said.

“This is a case where the law conflicts with reason. I think anyone who has driven past there recognizes the sign is an obstruction,” Alix said.

The issue came before the Champaign County Board Facilities Commission’s Jan. 4 meeting. However, the commission was told that Urbana had been “at the table” when the plan to add the sign was discussed.

Gray said that the County currently planned to add lettering and lighting to the sign this spring.

– Nate Sandstrom