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3301 Silver Lake Road, St. Anthony, Minnesota 55418‐1699  www.savmn.com (612) 782‐3301 Fax (612) 782‐3302 Our mission is to be a progressive and welcoming Village that is walkable, sustainable, safe. TRAFFIC DEVICE INSTALLATION POLICY INTERSECTION CONTROL POLICY PURPOSE This document outlines policies for determining the location and type of intersection control signage on roadways owned and maintained by the City of St. Anthony Village. The City of St. Anthony Village is implementing this policy for several reasons:  Effective traffic control is achieved by exercising the least intrusive control to achieve safe traffic flow. When excessive control or unnecessary control is used, motorists feel imposed upon and frequently will ignore the traffic control device. This can lead to severe consequences involving collisions and possibly personal injury.  Consistent application of intersection control devices increases safety to both motorists and pedestrians within the community.  Research conducted by the Federal Highway Administration shows that adding stop signs are not effective in addressing the issue of speed. The purpose of stop signs is to assign right‐of‐way at an intersection, not to control speeding.  The Federal Highway Administration also concluded that adding stop signs do not necessarily improve safety at an intersection.  A common misconception is that stop signs at an intersection are needed because an accident has occurred there recently. It is important to keep in mind that accidents are random events. Many collisions are the result of driver error and are not the fault of poor design or insufficient traffic control.  Public understanding of the function of stop signs is one of the most critical elements in reducing speeding and traffic accidents. A consistent application of the policy serves both the motorist and resident within the City. Stop signs can be an effective safety measure if properly warranted. However, they should not be installed inappropriately where they may be ignored by drivers, needlessly interrupt traffic flow, and negatively affect fuel consumption, the environment, or cause needless noise. The traffic control at an intersection is critical to the operation of both intersecting roadways. If incorrect traffic control is installed for the existing traffic conditions and topographic characteristics of the intersection, undue delays and even unnecessary accidents could occur. The traveling public, especially persons not familiar with the area, typically drive based on instinct. Drivers subconsciously evaluate their surroundings to determine if a stop sign should or should not be located on an intersection approach.