Stillwater Council Approves $88,000 for Downtown 4‑Way Stop Conversions
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Summary
Council voted 4–0 to convert three downtown intersections (South Main at 7th, 8th and 9th) to four‑way stops, authorizing $88,000 for improvements including LED‑enhanced decorative stop signs, pedestrian lights and striping; staff will seek samples and dimmable options to limit glare.
The Stillwater City Council on Jan. 12 approved converting three downtown intersections — South Main Street at 7th, 8th and 9th Avenues — to four‑way stop control and authorized $88,000 in project expenditures.
Bill Millis, the city’s director of engineering, told council the project would remove existing traffic signals at the three intersections and replace them with LED‑enhanced decorative stop signs, pedestrian‑scale street lighting, refreshed striping and stop legends. Millis said Stillwater Electric will perform the physical conversion of traffic signals to street lights under a separate SUA budget amendment to save costs.
Councilors asked whether the proposed flashing LED stop signs would be too bright for the downtown aesthetic. Councilor Harden said he would not oppose four‑way stops but asked whether solar LED flashing signs could be dimmed and compared their lumen output to existing downtown lighting. Millis said vendors offer dimming and synchronization options and that staff would seek samples to evaluate actual appearance; he emphasized staff prioritized safety when recommending flashing red be used where appropriate.
A councilor moved to accept the staff recommendation, the motion was seconded and the council voted 4–0 to authorize the conversion and associated budget amendment.
Next steps: staff will obtain product samples for council review, coordinate Stillwater Electric work under a separate SUA amendment and schedule installations and inspections.
