SAN MARTIN
– The county will add new four-way stop signs at an intersection
in San Martin – but to the surprise and disbelief of residents,
officials say such a move at another busy intersection isn’t
warranted yet.
SAN MARTIN – The county will add new four-way stop signs at an intersection in San Martin – but to the surprise and disbelief of residents, officials say such a move at another busy intersection isn’t warranted yet.
Based on the results of a series of traffic studies, the county Roads Department will submit a request for a new four-way stop at Middle and Llagas avenues to the Board of Supervisors.
But to the surprise of several residents on the San Martin Planning Advisory Committee, they found additional stop signs at San Martin and Llagas avenues are still unnecessary.
Despite traffic from the nearby post office, elementary and middle school, waste transfer station and other nearby commercial businesses, traffic engineers said the intersection is close to meeting volume requirements but is not quite there yet.
Committee members wondered how that intersection could go without compared to Middle and Llagas.
“It doesn’t compute,” committee member Donna Brodsky said.
But county civil engineer Sadegh Sadeghi said the intersecting streets need nearly equal traffic to warrant a four-way stop. At the moment, the difference is too great.
“The minor (street) is moving up, but not as much” as needed, he said.
Committee member Bob Cerruti said volume shouldn’t be the only consideration, noting garbage trucks and wide-turning 18-wheelers regularly ply the junction of the roads.
“Those impact that intersection,” he said. “Someone needs to look at the types of vehicles rather than (just) the number.”
County engineers said they didn’t see big rigs during an early-afternoon visit.
They noted an unwarranted stop sign can cause side-effects and contribute to accidents. And while they can undertake a study to see if a signal light is warranted instead, they warned the money for one is not outlined in the county’s capital projects budget.
Meanwhile, the county will trim some trees at the southwest corner of the New and Church intersection for better visibility, but found stop signs are not warranted there at this time.
Officials said a sign wasn’t warranted at Foothill and Church either, although the roads department will monitor it more closely for the next six months to one year.
