Sitting at the stop sign on Eigleberry, anticipating a right or left turn onto Sixth Street, is a familiar gamble to Gilroy residents. With an obstructed view caused by cars parked on both sides of Sixth Street, a driver often turns unsure if the right-of-way is truly clear.
The city has finally noticed the problem. A study was recently completed that showed the intersection is eligible for a four-way stop. Two new stop signs are to be installed in December.
The City Council heard the stop sign proposal and study findings at an Oct. 15 meeting and approved the call to action. Nirorn Than, engineer with the city’s public works department, said stop signs will be placed in the area within the next few weeks and that installation has been held up because of weather.
The report said more than five collisions in an area in a year would warrant additional stop signs. There were six collisions at the Eigleberry intersection between August 2016 and August 2017.
Five of the six collisions were caused by traffic on Eigleberry Street failing to yield to traffic on Sixth Street, according to the report. These collisions would have been preventable with a four-way stop at the intersection, the report concluded.
The City hired engineering and development consultants Mott MacDonald to conduct the survey. The company used the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the California Highway Design Manual evaluate the intersection.
The report said traffic on Sixth Street is heaviest from 11am and 1pm and again from 3pm to 6pm. It also reported 120 pedestrians crossed this busy downtown street during the heavy traffic times w
Mott MacDonald also found 2,500 vehicles came through the area in the same four-hour period. The criterion for a stop sign is 107 pedestrian crossings and 2,500 vehicles in a four-hour period.
The cost for installing the stop signs will be $2,500.
Than said additional stop signs at the intersection are necessary “with the growing traffic, especially with peak time during the afternoon.”
The department is continuing to monitor the weather in order to get the signs installed as soon as possible. Than said the signs couldn’t be installed unless there was a five-day period without rain in order for the asphalt to dry.
Public works sent a letter to businesses and residents around the area back in early November, letting them know the stop signs would be installed within 10 days. However, that time period has passed because of weather delays.
