Cookeville will install a new three-way stop at the intersection of North Oak Avenue and West Broad Street Monday.
The intersection currently only has one stop sign on North Oak Avenue. Cookeville Public Works Director Mary Beth Elrod said the parallel parking on West Broad Street has made the intersection unsafe.
“It is hard to see and pull out,” Elrod said. “And we’ve had some near misses. There is also a crosswalk there that accesses into the parking lot under the bicycle arch that everyone knows, and to the depot. So, we’ve had some near misses not only with vehicles but with pedestrians as well.”
Elrod said the city will be installing temporary stop signs at the intersection. Elrod said the new traffic pattern is a trial to see how effective the change is.
“We are gonna put them there and watch the intersection, see how it functions, see how it works with other intersections and traffic in the area, and see if we need to do a more of a deep dive into the area to see if we need to expand out and do some work elsewhere to just help that area in general,” Elrod said.
The city has made several traffic pattern changes over the past few months. Elrod said stop signs are usually the first step when changing an intersection.
“Adding a stop sign is a quick and economical fix for traffic calming,” Elrod said. “So that’s why you see us trying stop signs and four-way stops first. That is a quick way to calm traffic and change traffic to allow for calming, less speeding, and to break up a long intersection or an unsafe intersection.”
Elrod said the goal is for drivers to be more aware when driving through the intersection. Elrod said traffic and downtown safety is important to the city of Cookeville.
