The safety of residents is at the forefront of the town of Upland’s mind with their decision to add a four-way stop at the intersection of Eighth Street and Hodson Drive.
What was previously a two-way stop now has four stop signs for pedestrian safety.
Due to the construction on Main Street, traffic has been rerouted to Eighth Street as the main detour. Because of this, Eighth Street has become increasingly busy, including the addition of more semi-truck traffic along the road, Michael Harbin, professor emeritus of biblical studies and Town Council Member, said.
Eighth Street also experiences a large amount of foot traffic. Taylor University students travel across the street to participate in various intercollegiate and intramural sports, along with classes that are held in the Randall Environmental Center.
Since the completion of the new pickleball and tennis courts on the west side of Eighth Street, the Upland Town Council recognized that the already-bustling foot traffic was also going to increase across the road. With these two factors presented, the town council decided to turn the intersection into a four-way stop.
The goal of the town council is to improve the safety of crossing pedestrians along with the safety of vehicles that are traveling through the area.
This change, as stated in the resolution, is designed to eliminate potential future accidents in the area surrounding the intersection.
The resolution will be presented at the next town council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 12, when a vote will be held to determine if the intersection will be changed. The change of the four-way stop is “temporarily installed until then,” Town Manager Jonathan Perez said.
Both Perez and Harbin said the resolution will be passed, since none of the town council members objected to the change.
The addition is presumed to be cost-effective.
“The only actual costs seem to be just two additional stop signs, which is not a great expense,” Harbin said.
He said the funds will be taken out of the town budget since the signs will not be a large expense.
Harbin said the traffic patterns will not be affected by this change. He believes when Main Street is re-opened, the diverted traffic, including the extra semi-trucks, will switch back across town.
The four-way stop will remain at Eighth Street and Hodson Drive, even after the detour is no longer needed, Perez said.
