By Bailey Buckingham
Residents of the Amberwood neighborhood in Kyle urged the Kyle City Council in early June to approve the erection of several stop signs within the neighborhood.
A resolution to add multiple stop signs within Amberwood was approved unanimously by Kyle City Council.
Residents voiced concerns during citizens comment regarding safety within the neighborhood due to lack of signage.
Kay Rush, Amberwood resident and beautification committee member, said they need the stop signs because of the amount of children and animals that reside in the neighborhood. She said the addition of stop signs would help ensure the safety of everyone.
Two other residents voiced similar concerns to the council, urging them to authorize the additional signs.
Leon Barba, Kyle city engineer, said the decision for traffic regulations at the developmental stage is up to the discretion of the developer and not the city.
When new neighborhoods are developed, there are no city or state requirements on the amount of traffic signs, such as stop signs, that need to be placed, Barba said.
It is the job of the developer to decide which streets will need to have stop signs in place.
“Since there is no existing traffic to measure or monitor, the engineer makes the determination based on types of intersecting streets and provides a recommendation based on his or her experience,” Barba said.
Once the decision is made for where the signs will be placed, the developer installs them as well.
Barba said the costs for traffic sign installation comes from the Department of Public Works budget.
According to trafficsign.us, the cost of stop signs range from $75 to over $500 due to the cost of labor and transportation.
Although citizens can request the installation of stop signs, Barba said city staff could also take the initiative if there is reasonable cause.
“If there is a serious traffic accident or number of minor accidents at a certain intersection, city staff can take the initiative to look into what traffic controls may be needed to improve safety through the intersection,” Barba said.
If citizens request signage, engineering studies are conducted to determine whether the intersection meets “warrants” as prescribed by the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Barba said.
The TMUTCD provides standards and guidelines for traffic control on streets and highways.
“If the request meets the warrants as prescribed by the TMUTCD, the engineer can support the request,” Barba said. “If not, city council still has the authority to order placement of the stop sign.”
