Commission rejects 4-way stop sign request by 3-2 vote

At first blush it may have appeared to be the simplest item on Monday night’s City Commission agenda, but a request for a four-way stop sign became the most contentious discussion of the meeting.

The single sentence on the agenda read “Consider and vote on a request to install a 4-way stop at Cleveland Avenue and 2nd Street.”

The intersection lies in the Downtown Business District. Street lights on both Cleveland and Central Avenues, from Second to Fourth Streets, were removed in August 2015 and stop signs were placed on north-south streets.

However, two commissioners say they have been approached by a business in the area with a request to install a four-way stop sign.

Traffic Engineering Manager Mike Lane said there have been no accidents at the intersection since the traffic lights were removed two years ago.

Lane also went over federal guidelines in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and said the intersection did not meet the guidelines for a four-way stop.

“More control doesn’t mean safer control,” Lane said. He said adding east-west stop signs would cause an additional 1,100 drivers to stop at the intersection each day, causing congestion.

After discussion, Mayor Homer Nicholson asked for a motion on the question and received none from other commissioners. He consulted with City Attorney Mike Vanderburg and City Clerk Marc LaBossiere to ask if he could make a motion. The consensus was that the mayor was eligible to make a motion, and Nicholson moved to deny the request for the four-way stop.

In a split vote, the commission voted 3 to 2 in favor of denying the request.