1 week Ago By Samuel Martin
WORTHINGTON — A three-way stop sign is now in place at the intersection of West Oxford Street, also known as County State Aid Highway 35, and North Crailsheim Road (CSAH 10). The all-way stop, a project more than a year in the works, is intended to reduce the number of accidents in the area and improve safety for multimodal traffic near Worthington Middle School.Nobles County Public Works Director Aaron Holmbeck said that while the signs were installed on Tuesday, changes were made to the intersection again on Thursday.
I also really want to encourage safe driving behaviors and for people to just be aware of this change that has taken place and to drive safely."We talked to the traffic engineer and we really felt that a larger, oversized stop sign was probably more appropriate given the circumstances on westbound (traffic) coming into Worthington on Oxford Street,” he said Thursday. “That is a major highway and people are traveling at highway speeds as they approach and then come into the school.
"We also are planning on installing two stop ahead signs on both sides of the highway to serve as additional warning for what you're seeing. There's (also) been some sign moving because there's some conflict that creates confusion to motorists or too much data that their mind has to pick up while they're driving along the corridor. All that can detract from the goal, which is to make it clear there's a stop.
”The new signage is a big change for eastbound and westbound motorists, who have long been accustomed to not needing to stop at the intersection. Holmbeck said there have been several reports of people not stopping since the signs went up. “Someone called and left a message about failing to yield, people blowing the stop sign.
I noticed that too, the first morning I was there. I didn't see a gross violation of it, but very definitely some rolling stops,” Holmbeck said. “It was truly not stopping, just going very slow, which is a much better situation, especially when we're considering multimodal traffic like bicyclists and pedestrians.
"People are learning throughout this new situation and, as a result, it's more common for people to roll through these stop signs and not yield to them fully," he added. "But I do think that compliance is slowly becoming more and more accepted. We're kinda monitoring the area and ready to respond if needed as we see opportunities to improve the situation.
”Holmbeck said the all-way stop should be more friendly to multi-modal traffic — people riding bicycles or walking in the area.“There's always benefits and disadvantages with any solution," he said. "One of those is probably a slightly higher potential for fender benders, property damage, rear end collision.
Things like that could slightly enhance as a result of this because people are learning it. It's likely not to cause any deaths, but it could cause property damage.”While there are risks with making a traffic change, Holmbeck said the fact that motorists have to slow down does give them more reaction time to identify a pedestrian or bicyclist.
“It’s going to give more opportunities for somebody to make a decision and respond to it and have enough reaction time to handle it," he said. "If you look at the data, based on other intersections across the whole state and whole country, an all-way stop is gonna be safer for pedestrians and less likely to have a serious issue where somebody gets severely injured. That doesn't mean it can't happen but it's gonna have a lower probability of statistically happening.
”Holmbeck said the new all-way stop is a temporary solution to the busy intersection. It gives the county time to identify the best solution for the corridor and pursue funding for whatever is decided.“What I could envision is something like a roundabout at that intersection that would both increase operational efficiency for motorized traffic and also improve multimodal safety," he shared.
"I can see that being one key option that would be proposed. This will be a public process, though. The public will have the ability to make input.
”Holmbeck said the best way to ensure the safety of Worthington’s streets, stop signs or not, is for drivers to be responsible.“At the end of the day, we're human beings and we make decisions for all sorts of reasons. You can't really control human behavior.
I just encourage everybody to obey the laws obviously, but more importantly, to take responsibility for our actions," Holmbeck said. "I also really want to encourage safe driving behaviors and for people to just be aware of this change that has taken place and to drive safely. You do your best to help encourage the right behavior, but ultimately, everyone has a responsibility for safety.
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