Sisters stops STOP signs

Drivers in Sisters won't have to look out for new STOP signs -- at least not for a while.

The Sisters City Council, in its October 12 meeting, tabled a proposal to add 34 new STOP signs on city streets until some criteria is established to determine the need for and the impact of new signs. The proposal would have placed STOP signs on the cross streets of Washington and Jefferson streets and along Adams Street.

City officials acknowledged that there are concerns about traffic on city streets, particularly at uncontrolled intersections on the south side of town.

"I've always had a fear of uncontrolled intersections," Councilor Gary Miller said, "especially in a town where many drivers are unfamiliar with traffic flows."

Sisters Police Chief Dave Haynes agreed that visiting drivers who are used to driving in cities with traffic signals can be confused by uncontrolled intersections -- and even by yield signs.

According to Haynes, many drivers stopped by Sisters police simply don't understand the concept of right-of-way.

"They don't know the rules of the road anymore because they're used to controlled intersections," Haynes said.

But the city council was not sure that adding a significant number of new STOP signs is the answer to the problem. They seemed to concur with the view expressed by Sisters area resident Colin Adams:

"If we go from uncontrolled intersections to a STOP sign," Adams testified, "there should be some established criteria to support it."

Mayor Dave Moyer wondered if adding STOP signs on the cross streets of increasingly busy city streets would merely encourage speeding, with drivers becoming confident that cross traffic must stop.

The council tabled the proposal and asked city Public Works Director Gary Frazee and Police Chief Dave Haynes to gather information on how and why STOP signs are placed.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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