Tallying the traffic death toll is always a grim, end-of-year piece of highway housekeeping.

But the toll released last week by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety took a little bit of the sting out of the numbers.

In 2011, 773 people died on Missouri roads, according to the still unofficial tally, as against 821 in 2010. While that still means more than two people died each day, the state said, the 2011 death toll ranks as the lowest fatality count since the late 1940s.

"Last year was the sixth consecutive year Missouri's crash fatality rate fell," said Leanna Depue, MoDOT highway safety director. "We applaud Missouri drivers who pay attention, drive defensively and take care to travel safely. They share credit for this drop in fatalities with a number of hard-working law enforcement professionals and emergency services personnel."

In preliminary figures, the Illinois State Police reported that 906 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2011. During the previous year, the number was 927.

A BRIDGE TO SELL?

Some of you may have seen a MoDOT public notice seeking takers for the westbound Daniel Boone Bridge that carries Highway 40 (Interstate 64) over the Missouri River.

MoDOT spokeswoman Linda Wilson said the notice was a legal requirement because the bridge has historic significance. Perhaps not surprisingly, there were no takers by the Dec. 31 deadline.

The current narrow truss bridge opened in the mid-1930s and was not designed to carry modern-day interstate traffic. It will be removed to make way for a new replacement span.

Q. Have you checked out the signals in Maplewood at Manchester Road and Sutton Boulevard? Usually pedestrian countdown clocks either match the lights changing or get to zero before the light turns red. However, at this intersection, I have seen that the east/west light is red while there are two seconds left on the pedestrian countdown. This is not only a problem for pedestrians who may find themselves walking against the red and oncoming traffic, but could be confusing if drivers see the countdown showing three or four seconds on yellow and think incorrectly that they still have time to enter the intersection when they will have a red light at two seconds.

— Mark, Richmond Heights

A. Maplewood Public Works Director Anthony Traxler told Ride he will check with St. Louis County — which maintains the signals — to see whether the signals should be tweaked. Ride checked it out and agreed that the pedestrian countdown may need an extra tick or two. But I'd just like to add that I've watched spacecraft launches on TV that took less time to count down to zero than these walk/don't walk signals. I mean, the red hand appears with no less than 42 seconds left to go for pedestrians walking westbound across Sutton on the north side of Manchester.

Q. Would you please tell me the purpose of the black-topped area on Interstate 55 in Barnhart where the old weigh station was on the west side of the highway? They have lights turned on daily and nothing is ever there except a black-topped area, which is fenced in and is wasting taxpayers' money.

— Kathy, Barnhart

A. That paved area along Interstate 55 will soon be used as a commuter parking lot, said MoDOT spokeswoman Kara Price. The state will be closing another commuter lot near Highway M. The reason the lights are turned on at the new commuter lot is to accommodate vehicles that are being parked there now.

Q. When leaving work about 6 a couple of mornings ago, I was almost T-boned. I was headed south on 5th Street in St. Charles at I-70 when a driver headed north on 5th was turning to westbound I-70. The light turned green for the southbound 5th Street traffic while I was a distance from it and a car ahead of me went through the intersection. An SUV turning to westbound 70 did not slow and I, fortunately, "goosed" my pedal and got out of the way. As I was cussing said driver, I looked in my rear-view and saw the left-turn yellow flashing arrow. I can only presume the driver thought the flashing yellow arrow was about to turn to a red light. Are the flashing yellow arrows a new thing?

— Dawn McGuire

A. These flashing yellow arrows have become more common in the past year or so in the St. Louis area — and more are on the way. A federal study showed the signals actually improve safety because drivers are more likely to yield when confronted with one of these blinking yellow arrows than a solid green ball light. MoDOT spokeswoman Linda Wilson added that the flashing yellow lights improved traffic flow.

Still, Wilson added that it has taken drivers a while to adapt after some of these flashing yellow arrows have been installed.