Newton considers stop signs at intersection prone to accidents

Stop signs may be installed at an intersection that is prone to car accidents in the southern area of Newton. The signs would be installed on the northbound and southbound lanes along East 12th Street South — often called the “Reasnor Road” — at South 13th Avenue East, effectively making it a four-way intersection.

The city cited recommendations listed in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Safety Devices (MUTCD), which suggests the installation of all-way stop signs at intersections where there were five or more reported crashes in a 12-month period, or six or more reported crashes in a 36-month period.

According to city documents, there have been 12 reported accidents at this intersection, eight of which were within the past three years. The primary concerns communicated to the city relate to the speed of motorists driving north and south at the intersection, as well as the number of accidents.

Coupled with the proximity of the bike trail that crosses the intersection, there have also been concerns relating to pedestrians and bicyclists being able to safely cross the street due to the excessive speed incidents on the roadway. Currently, only the eastbound and westbound traffic are required to stop at the intersection.

Of the eight reported accidents since 2022, the city said six of the accidents may have been prevented — or the impact substantially reduced — had a four-way stop been in place at the same time of the incident. The Traffic Safety Committee reviewed the case and is not opposed to installing the stop signs.

Council member Randy Ervin noted the intersection is “right around the corner” from his house, and he uses it often to go to Monroe or Reasnor or Pella. To him, the problem isn’t so much the north and south traffic as it is the east and west traffic. Ervin said drivers “just blow those stop signs.” Still, he supports the signs.

“If nothing else, a stop sign on the north-south traffic will make that traffic stop so that if they still miss that stop sign, the collision will be way less,” Ervin said.

Other officials suggested the intersection has had some close calls. Council member Melissa Dalton recounted an incident where a truck and trailer pulled out in front of her while she was traveling southbound, causing her to slam on her brakes. As luck would have it, a police officer pulled over the driver afterward.

“Had I looked away for a second thinking he was just going to stay put, there would have been another accident,” Dalton said.

Police Chief Rob Burdess said the Traffic Safety Committee has looked at this intersection a few times in the past. Burdess noted that while there have been a number of accidents at the intersections, he cannot definitively say they all could have been prevented by a stop sign.

Burdess said one of the accidents was weather-related and another was a medical issue where a driver blacked out.

“Anecdotally, like Randy said, even if the stop signs didn’t prevent the accident, the collision would have been probably less,” Burdess said. “Because the north-south driver wouldn’t be going 25 mph or if they were speeding a little bit faster. I would say, in that sense, the collision would have been less.”

The police chief noted the intersection could be a challenge for race events at the Iowa Speedway, since the Reasnor Road leads directly to Rusty Wallace Drive. Although that could be a barrier in getting people safely out of the Iowa Speedway after race events, Burdess said it is a minor issue if it increases safety.