WILLMAR-The city of Willmar has 130 miles of streets crisscrossing its neighborhoods. While many of the intersections have some sort of controlling device, whether it is a stop sign, yield sign or traffic lights, there are several intersections which do not.
While these uncontrolled intersections might be a worry to some, especially those living around them, Public Works Director Sean Christensen said if an intersection does not have a sign, it is probably because it does not need one.
When deciding whether to put in a stop sign, Christensen turns to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, published by the United States Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. The manual lays out when signs or traffic signals should be placed in an intersection.
When a concern about a certain intersection and its lack of signage is brought to Christensen, he will follow the guidelines in the manual.
"We'll see if that intersection has changed," Christensen said.
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In the latest version of the manual, it says stop signs should be considered when the vehicular traffic volumes on the through street or highway exceed 6,000 vehicles per day; when a restricted view exists; or if crash records show that there have been three or more accidents at the intersection within a year, or five or more in two years, which might have been prevented if a stop sign had been installed.
During a meeting last week of the city's Public Works and Public Safety Committee, Councilman Steve Ahmann raised concerns about the intersection at Becker Avenue and Ninth Street Southwest, wondering why there is not a stop sign there.
Christensen said this intersection has been reviewed several times and that it does not meet the requirements laid out in the control devices manual.
"At this time it doesn't," Christensen said during the Aug. 23 committee meeting.
Even the accident reports do not meet the minimum standards. Christensen said there have been six accidents at that intersection in the past five years.
"2015 was the worst with two," Christensen said.
According to crash data, the Becker and Ninth Street Southwest intersection has had the most crashes of any uncontrolled intersection in that area from March 2011 to August 2016. Police Chief Jim Felt cannot say specifically what caused those crashes.
"It appears to be a case of speed and inattention," Felt said.
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Thankfully, none of those six crashes was too serious.
"There have not been any major injuries," Felt said.
While the city can ultimately decide whether to put signs on the streets for which it is responsible, Christensen chooses to follow the manual for his recommendations.
" ... It comes down to I'm not recommending it," Christensen said.
In Christensen's opinion, putting stop signs where they are not warranted can actually cause more problems than it solves. For one, if a stop sign goes up, the city would need to maintain that signage, which is a cost. Also, adding a sign could conflict with standard traffic flows in the area, irritate drivers and cause traffic delays.
"When we put a new sign in, it could cause some confusion," Felt said.
At an intersection uncontrolled by signage, Felt said drivers need to drive at safe speeds and in a safe manner. The speed limit in residential areas is 30 miles per hour.
When vehicles approach an uncontrolled intersection, there are road rules to follow. The vehicle going straight has the right of way, or the driver on the right does. Also, the vehicle which reaches the intersection first has the right to go through first.
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"We don't want people racing to the intersection first," warned Felt.
In the end, no matter if there is a street light or sign at an intersection, or nothing at all, it is the driver's responsibility to drive safely.
"It comes down to people being aware of their surroundings," Felt said.
