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It was interesting to sit in on Tuesday’s common council discussion about removing unnecessary stop signs in the City of Tonawanda. Listening to Fred Foels, it became clear to me that the city’s traffic board has done its homework.
I’m sure city leaders will take some heat from residents who don’t want to see their beloved stop sign removed from the nearby corner in their neighborhood. But let’s be honest: Some stop signs are simply unnecessary.
In every location, the signs suggested for removal involved a T-style intersection, including some that are outlets from cul-de-sacs. Among the traffic board’s rationale is that the signs on thru-streets halt traffic unnecessarily. At many locations, drivers aren’t coming to a full stop in the first place, opting instead for the so-called “rolling stop.”
While you don’t want to turn residential streets into drag racing strips, you also don’t want to waste energy from constant stopping and starting. It looks to me like the traffic board has found a good model on which to base its suggestions for the first and second wards.
Tussing Lane is a residential street less than half a mile and only about four blocks in length. Traveling east, one will encounter three stop signs, including one for Sutley Court, a cul-de-sac. There are two bends in the road which should force drivers to keep their speed in check. The two stop signs in the middle of the street aren’t needed.
Could traffic speed up without the signs? Perhaps a little, but it’s not going to turn into the 290 either. Residents — at least the considerate ones — typically drive slower in their own neighborhoods.
Perhaps the most obvious location to take away stop signs is the intersection of Canton Street at Cranbrook Road. There are only two homes east of this junction before Canton dead-ends. Is it really necessary for drivers heading east to one of these two houses to come to a complete stop? Of course not. The signs should go.
Justification for removing other signs were less clear until vehicle counts were added to the equation. For example, the traffic board has suggested removing two stop signs on Penarrow Drive, one for southbound traffic at Westbourne Drive and the other for northbound traffic at Harvington Road. The latter was most puzzling to the traffic board.
“Why is there only one stop sign for traffic heading north and not for southbound cars?” Foels questioned. Further investigation found there is no history of accidents at the intersection. Monitors that count daily traffic indicate 650 vehicles on average travel along Penarrow. It’s almost entirely residential traffic, Foels believes. There’s a stop sign a few hundred feet ahead, at Luksin Drive. The sign at Harvington can be removed; drivers will have to begin slowing down for the next stop sign anyway.
On William Street, drivers must stop at Broughton Court, less than 500 feet away from Roosevelt Street where William begins or ends depending on your point of view. For northbound drivers, it’s a momentum killer. Southbound drivers must come to a stop, then accelerate only to be stopped again at Roosevelt. All of that for Broughton Court, which has two residences.
Foels said he received four calls asking why there are stop signs at that intersection. One caller went a step farther, suggesting there should be signs installed on Grove Street at Broughton Street instead, where there’s three times as much traffic.
“I said, ‘Mister, that’s a good point,’ ” Foels told the council.
That may not be a bad idea, although I personally wouldn’t care for it because I drive up Grove every day when I’m going to work here at the News. Grove is becoming an attractive option for drivers who don’t want to deal with the hassles of sudden stops and turns along Delaware and Main streets.
And that’s the idea for traffic control devices: Regulate for the sake of safety, not hindrance for the sake of hindrance. The traffic board seems to be on the right track.
John Hopkins is the night city editor of the Tonawanda News. His column appears Thursdays. Contact him at john.hopkins@tonawanda-news.com.
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