8th Ave.-28th St. crossing now is a 4-way stop

City cites ‘driver confusion’ for change

After a brief conversion to a two-way stop, the intersection of 8th Avenue and 28th Street became a fourway stop Friday due to driver confusion, the city says.

An outdated traffic signal was removed at the intersection last week, and a planned two-way stop was implemented.

While the two-way stop was initially decided on because city research showed there was no need to interrupt the flow of 8th Avenue traffic, a city press release said drivers exhibiting “a near-constant state of confusion” in the past week, prompted the most recent change.

The press release said that city observers witnessed drivers with the right of way stopping, and other drivers moving through the intersection “despite oncoming traffic.”

Though the public works department removed the traffic signal heads at the location on Thursday, there was no difference in driver behavior afterward.

“Additionally, neighbors voiced displeasure with the two-way stop directly to city officials and to local and social media,” the release said.

The decision to imple-

ment a four-way stop at the intersection followed a meeting between city engineers and City Administrator Greg Wilkinson.

City spokesman Dave Nash said that the city would usually have given more lead time to notify residents and get feedback prior to the initial changes taking place. The city believes the change to a four-way stop “is the best decision for the overall safety of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians in this area, particularly the neighborhood schoolchildren.”