Does an invisible stop sign still apply?
Stop signs are meant to be seen — and obeyed — unless they’re so thoroughly obscured that drivers unwittingly ignore them.
There is no shortage of signs on city streets, whether they’re platforms for advertising, offer helpful information or provide instruction to drivers on what they should or should not do.
There’s a hierarchy, and at the top of the pecking order is signage that conveys crucial information needed to maintain traffic order and safety.
No traffic sign is more essential than an old-fashioned stop sign. Without them, nobody would stop unless they thought they’d smash into another car, or maybe a person.
Even they are regularly disregarded. How often have you seen a driver barrel up to a stop sign and barely touch the brakes before scurrying through an intersection?
If drivers can clearly see a stop sign, there’s no excuse for a rolling stop or just ignoring it. But that’s not always the case.
I was driving south last week on Huron Street, approaching the intersection at Bernard Avenue, in the downtown core. It looked like there was no stop sign for traffic on Huron and I could go straight through, while drivers on Bernard had to stop.
But it didn’t feel right. Just as I got to the intersection, I caught a glimpse of red, between the leaves on a large tree branch in front of a utility pole on the northwest corner.
I hit the brakes just in case, even though there was no oncoming traffic on Bernard, and was rewarded when I spotted white lettering on the splotch of red I’d seen between the leaves.
Sure enough, there was a stop sign on the pole.
I pulled over and got out to take photos. It wasn’t more than a minute before a driver came south on Huron and went straight through the intersection, no doubt because the stop sign could not be seen.
At this time of year, with greenery having about four months to grow, this surely isn’t the only traffic sign to be obscured by leaves and branches.
Drivers should be cautious when approaching an intersection where there doesn’t appear to be a stop sign.
Status I sent a note to the city and got a reply within 24 hours from Mike Hajmasy in the communications department, along with a photo showing that the branch had been cut back to reveal the stop sign to drivers.
“Confirming that city crews have trimmed the tree branches that were obscuring the stop sign,” said Majmasy, adding, “residents are reminded that service requests can be submitted to 311 via email (311@toronto.ca), by phoning 311 or on the 311 Toronto mobile app.”
Good reminder. But the city should remind its staff to keep an eye out for problems like hidden stop signs, and report them right away.