Council approves installation of stop signs at accident-prone intersection

Newton City Council this past week authorized the installation of stop signs at an intersection that has seen eight accidents in the past three years. The council voted for changes in a 6-0 vote, effectively turning the intersection into a four-way or all-way stop. The signs will be added to the northbound and southbound lanes.

The primary concerns communicated to the city relate to the speed of motorists driving north and south at the intersection of East 12th Street South — often called the “Reasnor Road” — and South 13th Avenue East, as well as the number of accidents.

Coupled with the proximity of the bike trail that crosses the intersection, there have also been concerns about pedestrians and bicyclists being able to safely cross the street due to the excessive speed incidents on the roadway. Only the eastbound and westbound traffic were 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 said he hoped he is not the first person to forget the new signs have been installed. Ervin believes the stop signs will improve the safety at the intersection and at least reduce the seriousness of crashes. To him, that was the goal of adding the stop signs.

Police Chief Rob Burdess said at a past meeting 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.”