By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
New stop signs could be installed on Main Avenue at Centennial Street by the end of the week, after the City Council Monday night approved a traffic control order making the intersection a four-way stop.
The council unanimously approved a recommendation from Police Chief Tim Jungel and traffic engineering consultant Joe Eberle to install stop signs on the Main Avenue approach to the intersection.
“This is a change that residents and members of the community have requested for some time,” Jungel said.
The city had previously explored the idea of a four-way stop at Main and Centennial several times, but it never came up for a vote.
“It didn’t meet the warrant requirements, which were the number of crashes, the traffic volume, the pedestrian volume,” Jungel told council members. “None of them were quite at that threshold.”
However, warrant requirements under the Michigan Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices have changed, which allowed the city to take another look at creating a four-way stop.
“They added a special section, with (Cityside Middle) School right there, the volume of traffic, sight distance, parking – all of those things would make it appropriate to change this intersection to a four-way stop,” Jungel said.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic near Cityside warranted the change, Eberle wrote in a memo to the city.
“This location is an intersection of two local streets, and has very heavy pedestrian traffic, particularly when school is in session,” Eberle wrote in his recommendation. “The collected traffic data shows a peak of 44 pedestrians per hour crossing Main Avenue at this location, and an all-way stop configuration would give the right-of-way to these pedestrians.”
Jungel concurred with Eberle’s recommendation, saying this will improve safety for Cityside students.
“At least now the expectations are very clear. People are going to stop all four ways,” he said.
Mayor Rick VanDorp, who has a child that attends Cityside, welcomed the change.
“This will be a great help for us (parents),” VanDorp said.
In addition to the new stop signs that will be installed on Main, all four stop signs will have a plaque installed underneath marked “All Way.” The signs will have temporary flags installed for all four directions, and temporary “Stop Ahead” signs will also be installed on the approach to the intersection, Jungel said.
Zeeland Record
New stop signs could be installed on Main Avenue at Centennial Street by the end of the week, after the City Council Monday night approved a traffic control order making the intersection a four-way stop.
The council unanimously approved a recommendation from Police Chief Tim Jungel and traffic engineering consultant Joe Eberle to install stop signs on the Main Avenue approach to the intersection.
“This is a change that residents and members of the community have requested for some time,” Jungel said.
The city had previously explored the idea of a four-way stop at Main and Centennial several times, but it never came up for a vote.
“It didn’t meet the warrant requirements, which were the number of crashes, the traffic volume, the pedestrian volume,” Jungel told council members. “None of them were quite at that threshold.”
However, warrant requirements under the Michigan Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices have changed, which allowed the city to take another look at creating a four-way stop.
“They added a special section, with (Cityside Middle) School right there, the volume of traffic, sight distance, parking – all of those things would make it appropriate to change this intersection to a four-way stop,” Jungel said.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic near Cityside warranted the change, Eberle wrote in a memo to the city.
“This location is an intersection of two local streets, and has very heavy pedestrian traffic, particularly when school is in session,” Eberle wrote in his recommendation. “The collected traffic data shows a peak of 44 pedestrians per hour crossing Main Avenue at this location, and an all-way stop configuration would give the right-of-way to these pedestrians.”
Jungel concurred with Eberle’s recommendation, saying this will improve safety for Cityside students.
“At least now the expectations are very clear. People are going to stop all four ways,” he said.
Mayor Rick VanDorp, who has a child that attends Cityside, welcomed the change.
“This will be a great help for us (parents),” VanDorp said.
In addition to the new stop signs that will be installed on Main, all four stop signs will have a plaque installed underneath marked “All Way.” The signs will have temporary flags installed for all four directions, and temporary “Stop Ahead” signs will also be installed on the approach to the intersection, Jungel said.
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