Anyone up for a 4-Way stop at Ross Moore and Silabert intersection?

The Silabert entrance functions as an acceleration ramp to break the sound barrier and the return trip in Anthem is great to scare all the little kiddies in the way. :)

After witnessing a little T-Bone accident at the intersection a few months back and my own tendency to test the sound barrier at the intersection, perhaps we should consider a four-way stop sign.

Beyond my exercising less weight on the accelerator and others self-policing themselves - we may need to face reality.

''let the voters speak...''

By Mario Andretti

Passing on to the board

That's not a bad idea. I've noticed a lot of people speeding around the Ross Moore corner into the cul-de-sac lately which concerns me. There are a lot of exercisers and pets in that area and people come hauling through there like they're in a race to their driveway. I'm on the board and in charge of the website so I forwarded your note to the other board members. Please join us at the next board meeting Monday, May 3rd at 7PM at Oakhurst Baptist church to discuss it further. Thanks for your input.

One board member's response

The civil engineer on our board doesn't think it will be effective. Here's his email:
Many of you know that I'm a civil engineer. What you don't know is that Transportation Engineering is my specialty. I design roads (amongst other things). I will be happy to cite government reference manuals when I say this. I'm in favor of the what you are trying to accomplish, however 4-way stops don't do it.

4-way stops are not intended to slow people down or soften traffic. They function well only when there is equal amounts of traffic coming from all directions (or 3 of the four legs) to cause all people to stop. 4-way stops in other locations can actually cause accidents. Drivers can tell when a stop sign is not needed, and they inevitably roll through it. We all do it. Police don't camp out at all stop signs and catch the people that don't stop. Those that roll through our 4-way stop will likely never get a ticket. Rolling through it at the wrong time causes accidents.

I don't mean to bore you with traffic lessons.

What you want is a way to ''soften'' traffic. This is accomplished through several approaches. The most common (and cheapest) in Charlotte is with road humps.

If you choose, contact CDOT (Charlotte Dept. of Transportation). Inform them of the situation. They will perform a study and then install a road hump. If you don't get the response you want, then you write the mayor. If you notify the city of a potential hazard (especially the mayor) in writing, then they have to perform a traffic study (in our case - speed study = radar gun). If they don't, they are liable in a lawsuit. A mayor never wants to be liable.

Good luck,
Jeff