Commission approves installation of stop signs at SE 40 Eighth and S. Webb; resolution to follow

Jim (Road & Bridge staff) told the Harvey County Board of Commissioners on June 17 that his field study found limited sight distance at the intersection of Southeast 40 Eighth and South Webb Road and recommended installing three stop signs to control the unusual, curved intersection.

“It’s not asking too much for traffic to stop when they’re stopping in every other leg,” Jim said, summarizing his engineering judgement and citing sight-distance criteria from the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

Leland Ents, Richland Township trustee, told commissioners that township officials had received a resident complaint and wanted clarity on the process, upkeep and liability for regulatory signs. “We wanted to know who makes that determination. Is the township involved in any of that because there hasn't been stop signs on that road ever,” Ents said.

Jim told the board that the county owns, maintains and accepts liability for regulatory signs and that the county had received three complaints prompting a quicker response. He said the county sometimes uses red flags to highlight newly installed signs; in this instance, three stop signs were installed and the commission voted to approve the installations and to adopt a resolution next week to make them enforceable.

Commission discussion also touched on whether a yield sign could be used at one leg; Jim said a yield might be appropriate in some situations but judged a stop sign to be the stronger safety measure here.

Action: Commissioners moved and seconded a motion to approve the installation of the signs and to have a resolution next week addressing the enforcement; the motion passed by voice vote (ayes recorded). The board also discussed drafting a blanket resolution to cover existing regulatory signs countywide.

Discussion points: engineering sight-distance study, three citizen complaints, township notification and liability concerns, potential blanket resolution for regulatory signs. Direction: Road & Bridge will prepare and present a formal resolution for adoption at the next meeting. Decision: Installation approved; formal resolution to be adopted next week.