Commission makes four‑way stop at Le Vista and Territorial permanent after crash history and debate

The Battle Creek City Commission voted June 2 to make permanent a temporary traffic control order that converts the intersection of Le Vista and Territorial from a two‑way to a four‑way stop.

The decision followed a lengthy discussion in which the traffic engineer, Darren Campbell, said the intersection met crash‑warrant criteria: “We had eight crashes from 2023 to 2025,” Campbell said, and noted that including an earlier year would have produced 12 crashes — double the threshold usually used to justify the change. Campbell told the commission the staged approach requires a temporary measure before permanent installation.

Vice Mayor Sophia opposed the resolution on grounds of increased daily delay, arguing the measure forces additional stops outside peak hours and would slow traffic for much of the day. “In order to solve a problem that may be occurring for three hours a day, we’re going to require an additional 21 hours a day of people having to stop,” she said and said she would vote against resolution 390.

Commissioner Patrick O’Donnell said he would support the measure but asked staff to return with a traffic‑study report on how the four‑way stop performs and suggested additional speed‑reduction measures in the area following recent serious crashes. Several commissioners noted past safety concerns at the corridor and said data justified further calming.

The commission recorded approval of resolution 390. The traffic engineer and staff were asked to monitor crash data and report back with comparative crash figures and other options, such as speed‑limit changes or additional enforcement.

Next steps: staff will compile crash data for the period the four‑way stop has been in place and provide results to the commission, and public‑works/traffic staff will follow the staged progression for traffic‑control treatments if further measures are warranted.