Four-way stop being tested at Downtown intersection
By Jenna Wilson
Downtown St. Joseph may permanently see a four-way stop added to the intersection of North Seventh and Francis streets by the end of summer.
The intersection initially functioned as a two-way stop but a trial study conducted by St. Joseph Public Works & Transportation over the next 90 days will determine if the newly added four-way stop will stay.
“A request was made to make this area a four-way stop intersection, and it is viable for a trial period to do a warrant study on,” said Jackson Jones, superintendent of streets and infrastructure for the city of St. Joseph. “Once the warrant study is complete, we’ll take the findings and figure out if it’s going to be permanent or removed.”
Implementing a four-way stop control supports the goals and objectives outlined in the city’s Comprehensive Plan by facilitating a walkable, pedestrian-friendly environment for citizens and maintaining its status as a relatively safe intersection.
Downtown St. Joseph is a busy area for shopping, grabbing lunch and other important daily activities.
St. Joseph resident Sara Hilderbrant shops locally Downtown often and said this intersection can be dangerous at certain points of the day, which is why making the intersection a four-way permanently stop would be a good decision.
“I come out here to eat lunch with a group of girl friends at the (Felix Street) Gourmet every day,” she said. “It gets busy over here. Most of the time I’m able to avoid driving past that intersection but even just walking past it to check out a few shops I see so many cars that are seconds away from colliding with each other.”
Barricade lights have been added to the top of newly added stop signs at the intersection so drivers can get used to seeing them.
The study could go past 90 days, as there are other determining factors that need to be evaluated to complete the study including assessing the flow of traffic at the intersection when school is in session.
Once the study is completed, the traffic commission and city will vote on whether the additional stop signs remain.
