Street committee discuss uncontrolled intersections

The Washington Street Committee met Wednesday afternoon at city hall and discussed uncontrolled intersections. Committee chairwoman Karen Wilson-Johnson showed the committee a list of uncontrolled intersections in the city. An uncontrolled intersection is one with no traffic signs such as stop or yield signs.

Committee member Bob Shepherd said that, in a sense, all of the intersections in town are controlled. He said there is a state law that requires motorists to yield to those on their right if they come to an uncontrolled intersections.

?You stop at an intersection and proceed when it?s clear,? he said.

Building and zoning official Steve Donnelly asked, ?You might be right, but how do I know, if I?m going down the road and I don?t see a sign, that it?s a controlled or an uncontrolled intersection??

?Because you see the stop signs,? Shepherd said. ?I?ll tell you right now, I will not support putting stop signs at every intersection in town.?

Wilson-Johnson said, ?I hear what you?re saying, but if we do what you?re saying, when we?re driving down Third Street, where we just took away a stop sign, you would be stopping at every corner because you don?t know if the opposite side has a stop sign. Who stops at every corner??

Wilson-Johnson said that what brought the issue to her attention was the way Seventh Avenue is uncontrolled. She said the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Ninth Street is uncontrolled, but the intersection of Seventh and 10

^th

has yield signs and that Seventh and 11

^th

has stop signs.

Wilson-Johnson then read a letter from Jeff Brock about the uncontrolled intersections in town.

?I would like to challenge every street committee member to consider having an uncontrolled intersection near their house on a route they use multiple times per day,? the letter read. ?Not everyone knows how to handle an uncontrolled intersection. Some don?t even realize it is one until it?s too late. I imagine the cost from one bad accident would cover quite a few additional yield signs.?

Brock wrote that the intersection of North Seventh and East Ninth was especially worrisome.

?I?ve witnessed two accidents and more than a handful of close calls between drivers who don?t know what to do,? he wrote.

Wilson-Johnson asked Shepherd if motorists should stop at every corner.

?No, you yield to the right,? he said.

?Do you slow down to look at every single corner??

?Absolutely,? he said.

Washington Police Chief Greg Goodman said, ?If there are no controls, you are definitely going to have to slow down and yield to the right.?

Wilson-Johnson said, ?Yes, that?s the law. But how many laws are there that nobody knows about? To me, it is not common knowledge among citizens that you should be stopping at those intersections. If they?re driving down the street, and there is no sign, they don?t think they need to stop.?

Committee member Merlin Hagie said, ?I?m not very excited about a carte-blanch installation of signs all over town. If we have a verifiable intersection with multiple issues, we could look at that. I would put yield signs on Ninth Street but I wouldn?t put signs everywhere.?