More Stop Signs?

Santa Clarita's residential streets could soon see a lot more red...     The City Council on Tuesday adopted new conditions that would make it easier for certain residential intersections to qualify for multi-way stop signs.
    The city's Transportation and Engineering Services department uses state guidelines to determine whether to install stop signs at an intersection.
    However the state guidelines are intended for areas with higher volumes of traffic, similar to what would be found on state highways.
    According to a city staff report, the state guidelines may not be appropriate for the lower volume traffic conditions, which are prevalent on most neighborhood residential streets.
     Santa Clarita city officials receive many requests for stop signs to be installed at neighborhood intersections, but the traffic volumes and collision histories for the locations are usually insufficient to meet the state guideline for a stop sign. 
    The installation of multi-way stop signs would enhance traffic safety and preserve the residential street environment, the report states.
    Among the conditions required by the state: five or more reported collisions within one year, and an average of at least 500 vehicles per hour for any eight hours of an average day.
    With the new conditions adopted by the city, grounds for installation of a multi-way stop sign would require three or more reported collisions in a year, an average of 300 vehicles per hour for any four hours of an average day, the distance between current stop signs to exceed 750 feet, and the traffic volume on the uncontrolled street to exceed 2,000 vehicles per day.
    Also with the city conditions, if the intersection is near a school, recreation center, playground, or a center for the visually, mentally or physically impaired, the minimum volume condition would only be required for a single peak hour.
    The state guidelines will continue to be used to analyze all other intersections that do not meet the city's new residential street conditions.
    The city staff report states that additional studies and new stop sign installation will cost the city about $3,000 each year.