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Council introduces all‑way stop at Washington St. & Berkeley Ave.; engineering questions raised
Summary
Council introduced an ordinance to add all‑way stop controls at the Washington Street/Berkeley Avenue intersection and set a July 21 public hearing. A traffic‑engineering commenter told the council the existing study did not meet all MUTCD criteria and recommended a compliant engineering analysis before adoption.
Council introduced an ordinance to require stop controls on all approaches at the Washington Street/Berkeley Avenue intersection and scheduled a public hearing for July 21. The topic followed comments from a traffic‑safety expert who reviewed a prior engineering memorandum and said the analysis did not fully comply with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) warrants for multi‑way stops.
What the expert said: The commenter said a 2023 study recommended consideration of an all‑way stop, but that the study omitted required elements such as certified professional engineer statements, crash‑history analysis and approach speed measurements. He recommended tabling adoption until a MUTCD‑compliant engineering study was completed so the town could document the safety rationale and limit potential legal exposure.
Council response: The police department and several council members said engineering judgment and local road characteristics were relevant and that similar nearby intersections have stop controls; however, the council asked for the written compliance assessment and committed to reviewing the engineering materials before final action.
Outcome and next steps: The ordinance was introduced for first reading with a July 21 public hearing; the council requested the engineering compliance assessment be circulated to members and the public in advance of any final vote.
