Agenda - Council - 11/12/1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Traffic Noise~ ~ QuaLity, Energy Cortstttnp- tion. No~e is ~creased near the intersection due to the increased activity of acceleration (many drivers s.~eed up to make up for time lost at the stop s~gn) and added braking. Ad- jacent residents may complain about the addi- tional noise. Air quality is worsened and fuel consumption is increased due to added deceleration, ac- celeration and idling. Unnecessary stops reduce the efficient movement of traffic flow, by increasing travel time on the route. Commzmity Re}actiort. Mixed. Some resi- dents would feel~"anything is better than noth- ing'' or are mis'~mformed about the potential impacts. Some ~iew this measure as a safety improvement. Others View ~ measure as an urmecessary impkdiment to reasonable move- ment thru the area .and an encouragement to '~blow the stop signs"in the area. Many reM- dents in the immicliate vicinity of all-way stop signs view them in a positive manner. It is up to traffic engineers or other governing agents to responsibly determine the best traffic con- trol under the sp~cLfic circumstances based on reasonable guidetines. Additional Considerations Installation of all-.way stop signs is often used by a governing body as an immediate, tan- gible and inexpensive response to a neighborhood's Concern about safety on a local residential street. The use of stop signs creates a solution which is one of perception rather than effective improvement. This misuse of stop signs should be resisted by the local traffic engineer and governing body. Some studies have shown that the warrants for stop signs can be expanded to include other considerations such as presence of designated school cros.sLngs and sight dis- tance problems. The failure to follow the es- tablished warrants, to install stop signs without specific justification, may have legal implications to the local government agency. ~f~mu~_1 on Uniform Traf~c Control Devices Neighborhood Traffic Control January 1994 15-,2.