Bill to Install 4-way Stop Signs at 3rd & Park Fails

A proposed bill to install four-way stop signs at the intersection of 3rd and Park failed Monday night after a vote of Sedalia City Council members was taken.

The vote was 6 no, 2 yes, with First Ward Councilman Tom Oldham and Second Ward Councilwoman Tina Boggess casting the only yes votes.

The proposal was brought up at the previous Council meeting on March 17 by Councilman Oldham, who is running for reelection and opposed by challenger Albert Reine Jr.

At the time, Councilman Oldham said the four-way stop would improve the safety of pedestrians in the area. The speed limit on West Third at that location is 25 miles an hour. And there has always been a two way stop for north and southbound traffic.

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“We have an increase in foot traffic there,” Oldham told the rest of the Council, noting that many residents in the First Ward walk to Liberty Park and the Heckart Community Center, and there has been an increase in motor vehicle traffic in the area since the opening of the Heckart Center three years ago.

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Fourth Ward Councilwoman Rhiannon Foster, in her opposition to the proposal, said it would be appropriate to send the matter back to the Citizens Traffic Advisory Commission so the proper procedure can be followed. She then made a motion to do just that.

“We need to do the right thing, not just put in a stop sign now,” Foster said. “Because the last thing we want to do is throw up a stop sign there that causes more problems. We’ve all traveled through that intersection for years, and we’re used to the way it is now. A change like that will cause confusion. We have a procedure for a reason, there are national standards for a reason. Other communities have dealt with problems like this before, which is why we have standards like that. Do the study, find out what exactly what we really need, instead of jumping ahead of ourselves.”

First Ward Councilman Jack Robinson said he thinks the study needs to incorporate the future Katy Trail bike path that is planned for the area. “Because we don’t want to mess that up. On the other hand, you don’t want the study to take two years.”

Mayor Pro Tem and Second Ward Councilwoman Boggess stated that she knows of a family member who was once seriously injured at the intersection.

“I think what I’m hearing is, everyone says something needs to be done there. How should it be done, and how quick should it be done, is where I think we’re kind of stuck at,” Boggess said.

“When we’re talking about loss of life, you could very easily be sued because you didn’t do anything in an area where you knew there was a problem,” she noted, adding “Think about our citizens of Sedalia. We need to make sure they’re safe.”

Let’s do it in the correct way, and it needs to be done in a timely manner. Six months or a year, that’s not a timely manner,” Boggess concluded.

According to Public Works Director Chris Davies, “In a full-blown study, you basically do traffic counts, accident history, you look at pedestrians, you look at bicycles, you look at the geometry of the intersection (which includes driveways and other approaches, line of sight) you would doo all of that stuff.”

Sedalia Parks & Rec Director Amy Epple sent a memo to the Council and also expressed her concerns about the intersection, requesting that a study be completed first, before any action is taken.

“We have a lot of different things happening in that area, and I just want to make sure that we’re doing it correctly and we’re all working together for the best possible solution,” she told the Council.

After much discussion by Council, Mayor Dawson stated that “the bill on the agenda tonight is approving stop signs at that location, arbitrarily, without a study.”

In the top photo: First Ward Councilman Tom Oldham listens intently to Deidre Esquivel, one of the 10 members of the Citizens Traffic Advisory Commission, as she speaks on Monday night reference a proposed 4-way stop at 3rd and Park.