Freeport council approves all-way stop at 4th Street and Pecan after resident safety complaints

Freeport’s City Council voted unanimously to convert the intersection of West 4th Street and Pecan Street to an all-way (four-way) stop, acting on an engineering study that recommended the change to improve safety and reduce right-angle crashes.

The motion followed public comment from Thomas Cool, who told the council the intersection had a history of speeding and repeated near-miss incidents and urged officials to act. Staff presented a traffic engineering study conducted at the city’s request that evaluated volumes, crash history, sight distance and roadway characteristics using guidance from the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The study recommended upgrading the location from a two-way stop to all-way stop control to “improve safety, reduce right angle crashes, and clearly assign right of way among all approaches,” staff said.

Council members discussed broader traffic-calming needs across the city, including additional intersection studies and striping and reflectors at other problem locations. One council member suggested starting the new stop with flashing beacons on 4th Street to alert drivers who are unaccustomed to the control; staff said they would consider that when implementing the signs.

The practical next steps are for city staff to authorize installation and to coordinate necessary changes to signals and signage. “We got authorization, so I’m sure we’ll get started as soon as possible,” Doctor Kelly said. The council took a formal roll-call vote and the measure carried unanimously.