Stop sign in the alley behind the Vons supermarket
To stop or not to stop, that is the question. At least, it is a question that was recently asked regarding the many alley and street intersections in Coronado. While the alleys in Coronado perform many valuable functions, they also pose potential risks to motorists and cyclists, both those who are exiting the alleys and those on the intersecting streets. Pedestrians are also at risk.
A comprehensive stop sign warrant was recently approved by the city’s Traffic Operations Committee (TOC) and will likely be placed on the City council’s agenda in April for consideration. While it addresses the criteria for the installation of two-way and four-way stop controls and yield signs, it is silent on alleys. (See the eCoronado.com article “New Traffic Sign Policy Approved by Traffic Operations Committee” that summarizes the provisions of the proposed warrant.)
The “Entry onto Highway” provision of the California Vehicle Code provides the following regarding alleys.
The driver of any vehicle about to enter or cross a highway from any public or private property, or from an alley, shall yield the right-of-way to all traffic, as defined in Section 602, approaching on the highway close enough to constitute an immediate hazard, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that traffic until he or she can proceed with reasonable safety.
Although not required by either the state or the city’s proposed stop sign warrant, there are at least two locations in Coronado where motorists and cyclists are required to stop exiting the alley. The first is the intersection of the alley behind the Vons supermarket and Ninth Street. Prior to 2000 a stop sign was installed on private property at this location without city approval. It was attached to the Vons building. At the city’s request the sign was removed, but concerns were raised by a Vons employee regarding pedestrian safety.
In 2000 the issue was reviewed by the TOC. However, as explained by the city’s Principal Engineer, Jim Newton, the “city warrants could not be applied in the analysis of the location as the warrants were designed for intersections considering things like the volume of traffic on both streets. The TOC ultimately recommended the stop sign be re-installed under the ‘unique circumstances’ clause of the warrants. When the Vons building was remodeled in 2004, the City reviewed and ultimately approved the configuration that exists today which includes the pedestrian ramp out of the building, the alley crosswalk, and the stop sign; the stop sign was also approved via resolution by the City Council making it an ‘official’ stop location.”
In addition to the stop sign behind Vons, there is a stop sign at the intersection of the alley behind the Boney’s Bayside Market where the alley intersects Second Street. Also, while there is no stop sign, the word “stop” is painted on the pavement at the other end of the alley where it exits onto First Street.
Placement of stop signs at these locations was approved by the City Council as part of the agreement for construction of the Regatta Bay multi-family development on C Street. While the location with the stop sign conforms to the requirements of the California Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which requires a stop sign to be present at all approved stops, the second location does not comply with the requirement. Further, the MUTCD states that pavement markings are optional.
City Principal Engineer Newton explained that “in order for a location to be an ‘approved’ or ‘official’ stop, the location must be approved by the City council via resolution. He went on to explain that “we maintain a single resolution that lists all of the approved stop control locations which should be updated any time a new location is approved.” The only stop sign on an alley presently included in the list is the stop sign behind the Vons. The stop signs in the alley behind Boney’s need to be added to the list, and a stop sign needs to be placed at the alley’s intersection with First Street in order for it to comply with the California MUTCD.
Please let us know in the comments below if there are alley stop signs in addition to those noted above or if you feel that a particular alley warrants a stop sign because of its unique circumstances and the potential risks to motorists, cyclists or pedestrians.
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John Tato
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
