Selectboard member proposes solar-powered flashing stop signs for dangerous intersections

Selectboard member Joel Bouvier presented photos and described solar-powered illuminated stop signs—including flashing versions with solar panels—used at locations where fatal accidents had occurred, and proposed similar installations for two Bristol intersections: Burpee Road at Monkton Road (known locally as 'Boss Corner') and the Plank Road/Burpee intersection near the cemetery. Bouvier said he would research accident counts with state police and pursue grant funding to pay for the signs.

Peeker Heffernan added contextual observations that accidents at the Burpee and Plank intersections frequently occur when drivers stop and then pull out into oncoming traffic, with sight distance adequate from the north but limited from the south. The Board noted Green Mountain Power’s interest in moving a utility pole at the Burpee intersection; Bouvier committed to bring the item back on a future agenda with research results.