Lake County supervisors approve first reading to move stop sign in Upper Lake

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on Thursday approved the first reading of an ordinance to remove a stop sign on 2nd Street and place a stop sign on Middle Creek Road in Upper Lake, voting 5‑0 to advance the proposal to the board’s next meeting for possible adoption.

Lars Ewing, Lake County public works director, told the board the change affects a single three‑way intersection where Middle Creek Road meets 2nd Street and that the county prepared a map and an engineering evaluation to support the recommendation. "The recommendation was to change the stop location to Middle Creek Road intersecting with 2nd Street," Ewing said, adding the county typically codifies stop placements by ordinance.

The ordinance drew both praise and questions during the public comment period. Tim Kiara, a member of the Western Region Town Hall, said he expected some confusion but called the change "probably a necessary" step given longstanding concerns about traffic near the school. Danny Wynn, a Lakeport resident, urged the board to include the engineering principles and traffic studies in the agenda packet and suggested the county consider other traffic‑calming approaches such as deflection, constriction and friction treatment to reduce speeds.

"They're not included in the agenda item. There's no attachments for anything like that," Wynn said, asking the county to share studies and crash data. Ewing responded that an engineering evaluation had been prepared and that staff would share it; he also cited traffic counts and collision history, saying "2nd Street carries almost 1,500 average daily traffic and Bridal Creek is about 1,000" and that there were three reported accidents in the area in the last seven years.

Lisa Marie Benavides, who said she lives in Upper Lake and is a member of the local advocacy group, praised staff for responding to community requests and said she believed moving the stop would reduce problems at the intersection. Another commenter asked whether rumble strips or raised markers could be added so drivers would "feel" a change approaching the intersection; supervisors and county staff said they would consider physical traffic‑calming options alongside the sign change.

Supervisor Squatier urged caution about the intersection’s skewed geometry and suggested a mini‑roundabout as an alternative, saying "I think a miniature roundabout is really something I would love to see that forces people to engage in a way that yields and slows people down." Ewing said a roundabout is one of several options the county can study but described switching the stop sign as a "low‑hanging fruit" measure the department expects to implement more quickly, combined with outreach and temporary warning devices to alert drivers.

Procedural motions followed the hearing. The board moved to approve the ordinance’s first reading (to be read in title only); the motion carried 5‑0. The county clerk read the ordinance title amending section 19‑17.2 of the Lake County ordinance code to remove a stop sign on 2nd Street and place a stop sign on Middle Creek Road in Upper Lake, and the board then voted 5‑0 to advance the draft ordinance to the next meeting for consideration and possible adoption.

The item concluded with the board thanking public works staff; staff said they would share the full engineering evaluation and coordinate outreach with the school district and other stakeholders ahead of any physical changes.