“They need to put a four-way stop on that corner by the Veteran’s building, where the Farmers’ Market is especially since they are doing the work on that area any way. There are four-way stops all the way down Sixth Street so one more won’t matter. Also on Santa Theresa Drive and Third Street by El Roble School they need to put one. You ought to be out there when school gets out. People don’t slow down. Sometimes when they hit Miller Avenue, they are doing 90 miles an hour it seems like. They need four-way stops at those two places.”
Red Phone: Dear Safety Needed, While stop signs may seem like the sure solution to slowing people down, they are not always the answer and sometimes can back up intersections unnecessarily or create recklessness, said Don Dey, the city’s traffic engineer.
“Stop signs are not meant for speed control,” he said. “They control the right of way and provide a way to orderly control the movements at an intersection.”
The intersection by El Roble School does receive heavy traffic in the mornings and afternoons, but the rest of the day the volume of traffic doesn’t warrant having a sign, Dey said.
The city has looked at both intersections and determined signs were not needed, he said. In the case of the other intersection, the city determined that having a stop sign would cause unnecessary backups for a major through road that receives heavy traffic, Dey said in response to a similar Red Phone question..
“Signs have to be warranted under criteria established by state of California,” Dey said. “You have to look at the traffic and pedestrian volume over an eight-hour period before making a recommendation to install them, not just for two hours.”
If an intersection is not used for a long period of time, people tend to ignore the sign if they don’t see any cars coming, he said.
“If someone is crossing, they might not see them because they don’t expect to see them,” Dey said.
The city is continuing to work with the school district on ways to keep the roads safe for students coming and going to school, he said.
Just a reminder, even if you are traveling just 10 miles over the speed limit, you could receive a fine of $200 or more. So slow down and be aware of your surroundings.
