STOP SIGNS WILL STAY AT LEXINGTON, OLD SPRIGG

Safety and speeding were the main reasons the Cape Girardeau City Council rejected a proposal to remove stop signs at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and Old Sprigg Street Road.

The council Monday night rejected the proposal by a 6-1 vote. Councilman Frank Stoffregen cast the only vote in favor of removing the signs.

During an earlier study session, some council members expressed displeasure at removing the signs, fearing their removal would cause more accidents. The intersection has a four-way traffic stop. Removing the signs would have only stopped traffic on Old Sprigg Street Road.

"We are creatures of habit, and it seems that it would be more dangerous" to remove the signs than just allowing them to remain, said Councilman Richard "Butch" Eggiman. He voted against the measure to remove the signs.

Police Chief Rick Hetzel said officers would monitor the intersection and watch closely for speeding if the signs were removed.

Sgt. Buddy Davis, who heads the traffic division for the department, said only one accident has been reported at that intersection since 1991. However, council members said removing the sign could create more problems for both police and motorists.

"It seems like we would be asking for a major accident," said Mayor Al Spradling III. He also voiced his objection to removing the signs.

Lexington is a city throughfare and doesn't require a stop sign at that particular intersection, said City Engineer Mark Lester.

Councilman Jay Purcell said he travels Lexington at least once each day and doesn't see any congestion that would warrant removing the stop signs to open traffic flow. "There isn't a problem with stopping now," he said.

"There would just be increased speeding, and it would be dangerous," he said. "We don't need to hinder safety."

Traffic counts of the Missouri Department of Transportation show 665 vehicles per day travel on Old Sprigg Street Road. By keeping the four-way stop at Lexington and Old Sprigg Street Road it interrupts traffic, engineers say.

Lester said, "There is no need to stop traffic there. You try to move the traffic through an intersection as smoothly as you can."

A four-way stop sign has been in place at the intersection since 1994.