"mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
03/23/2016 at 17:31 • Filed to: None
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"mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
03/23/2016 at 17:31 • Filed to: None | 4
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The city decided to install a stop sign where one didn't exist. My 15 minute 10 mile commute is now 35-45 minutes as traffic is now backed up for miles on that road and all others as a result of people looking for an alternate route. Grrrrrr. If its not broken, fix it till it is.
Liam Farrell
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
03/23/2016 at 17:34 |
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There must have been some reason, maybe the stop sign manufacturers had an extra.
SVTyler
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
03/23/2016 at 17:40 |
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It’s like small town governments exist solely to inconvenience their constituents; my town recently installed two stoplights on a single-lane county road to alleviate congestion. Unsurprisingly, stopping dozens of cars for minutes at a time has not alleviated any congestion. Who knew.
Urambo Tauro
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
03/23/2016 at 17:49 |
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Sometimes these changes are downright baffling. I’m not convinced that the pros always outweigh the cons.
In the past few years, I’ve been seeing more and more signals equipped with sensor controls. The idea is that traffic can keep flowing when the cross-street is empty. But the reality is that you’re pretty much guaranteed to have to stop.
You used to be able to time it. When traffic was light, you could reduce speed a little so that when it turned green, you’d still have some momentum. Not anymore. Now, the light stays red until someone reaches the stop line and trips the sensor.
Xyl0c41n3
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
03/23/2016 at 17:50 |
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What state are you in? Is it a city-maintained street or a state-maintained highway?
In Texas, state-maintained highways undergo traffic studies before changes are made to the traffic control infrastructure. That information is public, and there should have been a public commenting period on it. But if it IS a state-maintained highway and such a traffic study was conducted, there’s little chance of changing it back, however...
If it was a city-maintained street, that change could have occurred from something as simple as a single resident going to the city commission/council and complaining loudly enough that the intersection was unsafe and needed a stop sign. Cities, especially smaller ones, don’t often conduct traffic studies to confirm whether or not the traffic load warrants a traffic control device.
If it’s a city-maintained street and you want to change it, I suggest taking photos of the backed up traffic and asking to speak during the public comments section of your city’s next commission/council meeting.
Go online and look at the agendas for previous meetings. I guarantee you this was brought up and approved at a previous meeting. Ask your city’s governing body what reason they had for making the change and argue your position that the stop sign is having an adverse effect. They might actually listen to you.
Funktheduck
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
03/23/2016 at 21:05 |
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In my grandmother’s old neighborhood they put a stop sign on a tight turn. This was just a turn, not an intersection. There was no notice or anything. Standard procedure is notices/signs before and then either a flashing light or flags to draw your attention (not to mention not putting a stop sign on a turn). Add to all that: it was behind some tree branches
Anyway, very first day it was up a cop hid behind bushes and wrote tickets to everyone who didn't stop. A few people mailed in payments but my grandma and some others and fraught it and won. The judge reemed the cop and the sign was removed shortly after. They found out an old lady complained that people were too fast and had some connections to have a stop sign put in. I think she may have been related to the cop writing tickets.