The North Platte City Council on Oct. 21 tabled a resolution to add stop signs for north- and southbound traffic on Buffalo Bill Avenue at Philip Avenue and directed staff to commission a corridor traffic study for Buffalo Bill Avenue.

The mayor opened discussion after a staff presentation that summarized federal/state guidance on traffic control. Brent, an engineering staff member, told the council that the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (the FHWA manual) provides five “warrants” used to evaluate all-way stop control and that, based on available counts and crash reports, “when we looked at all 5 warrants or criteria, we didn't see that any of those 5 were met on our current traffic study.”

Why it matters: residents and several council members said the intersection causes routine congestion and safety concerns at peak times, especially near school periods. Several members argued a four-way stop could create gaps that ease left turns at Philip and reduce daily congestion; others warned that installing stop signs where traffic flow is highly skewed can increase rear-end crashes and may not address long-term corridor needs.

What the council heard and decided: Eric and other speakers described frequent complaints from neighborhood residents. Councilmember Garrick moved to table the resolution and direct staff to study a broader Buffalo Bill corridor; Councilmember Reekert seconded the tabling motion. Council members cited the following specific study goals discussed during the meeting: measure traffic volumes across representative days and hours (avoiding atypical events), analyze origin-destination patterns, evaluate whether a traffic signal at Buffalo Bill would meet signal warrants, and model corridor impacts of either a stop-control or a signal.

Brent estimated a targeted corridor study would cost about $20,000 and said staff expected results by spring, provided the study uses representative counts and modern video/AI counting techniques. He noted that some peak two‑hour periods now meet partial criteria for signal warrants at the larger leg of Buffalo Bill Avenue but that a holistic corridor evaluation would show how changes at one intersection would ripple through nearby crossings.

Council direction and next steps: the council’s formal action was to table the resolution and move ahead with a traffic study of the Buffalo Bill corridor, roughly from Rodeo Road to Walker (with the option to extend to State Farm Drive). The motion to table was made by Councilmember Garrick and seconded by Councilmember Reekert; the item was tabled pending the study.

Excerpts from the meeting record: Brent summarized the warrant review for councilmembers and concluded, “when we looked at all 5 warrants or criteria, we didn't see that any of those 5 were met on our current traffic study.” A councilmember who drives the route daily said a signal “would create a caravan … With a bigger gap that you're not trying to navigate a smaller gap or guessing.”

What remains unresolved: staff will return with the traffic-study scope, estimated cost, and schedule; the council tabled the stop‑sign resolution until the study is complete and to allow time for analysis of alternatives, including signalization, four‑way stop, and signing/education/enforcement options.