Q: On my daily commute I noticed that the intersection of Earhart Rd. with Old Earhart and Goss has been made a four-way stop. This has definitely caused more traffic backups at the intersection: three to five cars line up before crossing with stop-and-go speed that causes less fuel economy and more pollution. How was the decision made to make this change?
A: The Washtenaw Country Road Commission has responsibility for this intersection. Communications manager Tiffany Oliphant emails that “due to a number of recent angle crashes at this location, we conducted a warrant analysis to evaluate whether a 4-way stop was justified.
“The Michigan Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MMUTCD) outlines several criteria used in this analysis. These include crash history, overall traffic volume, how traffic is distributed among the intersecting roads, how that volume varies throughout the day, and the 85th percentile speed of vehicles approaching the intersection.
“Based on the data we collected, the intersection met the necessary criteria, or ‘warrants,’ for installing a four-way stop. While we understand this change may lead to longer wait times and reduced fuel efficiency for some drivers, the decision was made to improve overall safety at the intersection.”
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