CEDAR CITY — Residents of Cedar City’s Eagle Ridge subdivision gathered at City Council, asking for a four-way stop at an intersection with a “confusing history.”
The intersection of Talon Drive, South Mountain Drive, South Talon Circle and West Eagle Ridge Loop has seen a few changes over the last few years. It was a four-way stop, then a two-way stop with two yield signs on its north and south legs.
In November, two additional stop signs earmarked for an intersection further west on South Mountain Drive at Eagle Ridge Drive were installed mistakenly at Talon Drive, according to the council packet.
“Once the error was discovered, the signs were put back as they were previously,” the packet reads.
The subdivision’s residents requested a more permanent solution to increase safety and reduce driver confusion, prompting the city’s Engineering Department to conduct a study to determine if a four-way stop is warranted at the intersection. Based on traffic volume and other criteria in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, it doesn’t.
Additionally, the manual states that stop and yield signs should not be installed at the same intersection if they conflict, and it doesn’t appear the area qualifies for an exception. So city staff recommended removal of the yield signs, and via email, Cedar City Police Chief Darin Adams expressed support for the action, according to the packet.
“I think, without any exceptions and the fact that the traffic count does not warrant a four-way stop, it would be appropriate to recommend the removal of the yield signs,” Adams wrote. “I think this will eliminate the existing confusion for motorists.”
But the area’s occupants still requested the installation of a four-way stop. Eagle Ridge resident Shalon Shaver spoke tearfully of her concern for local children’s safety.
“There are multiple hours in the day that there is little to no traffic at all,” she said. “But I invite you all to come to my home and sit … at my office window seat overlooking this intersection on a business day between 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
“This is when our children are attempting to cross the intersection from the bus and commute to their after-school activities. At this time, there’s quite a bit of traffic moving through the intersection … I think to remove the yield signs and not allow us to have a four-way stop there — it doesn’t protect our children, and that’s what’s important.”
Other speakers cited driver speed, visibility issues and the intersection’s proximity to Providence Center Drive and Walmart as reasons the city should approve the additional stop signs. Deborah Cerne said people traveling on Providence Center Drive often drive 50-60 miles per hour, and “if we do the speed limit, we have people flashing lights at us because we’re too slow.
“I know our neighborhood would pay for the stop sign just to try to slow people down because I’d hate to see somebody coming here because their child got hit at that intersection,” she added.
City Manager Paul Bittmenn said that while the Engineering Department’s recommendation is based on criteria listed in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the City Council could vote to install the stop signs anyway.
“If you ask for a political opinion on who wants a four-way stop at what intersection, every resident that has a four-way intersection and has kids is going to come in and ask you for a four-way stop,” he said. “And you’re going to run into, I think — your traveling public gets numb to them — that’s an issue. So from an engineering perspective, all your engineers can give you is an opinion based on the facts on the ground and the traffic control data they have.”
Councilmember Tyler Melling spoke in favor of creating a four-way stop at the intersection.
“I realize the counts don’t justify it, but I mean, does confusing intersection history bear on that at all? I would think it does,” he said.
The item was added to the council’s consent agenda, where council members vote on multiple agenda items simultaneously with an up-or-down vote. So the request for a four-way stop likely be approved on Wednesday during the Cedar City Council action meeting, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers on 10 North Main Street.
The Cedar City Council meeting clips shown in the video at the top of this article are courtesy of Cedar City Corporation.
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