Sonora, CA — Caltrans is planning to install a four-way stop later this summer at the Highway 49 and Shaws Flat Road intersection, and some Tuolumne County Supervisors voiced concerns about it.
During the time set aside for board member reports at today’s meeting, Chairman Steve Griefer said the project came up in discussion during a meeting last week with the Tuolumne County Transportation Council.
Griefer reported, “One of the discussions was regarding the four-way stop that is planned to go in at the intersection of Highway 49 and Shaws Flat. Supervisor (Jaron) Brandon and I have been caught now twice, flat-footed, by Caltrans not giving us information to help us get the word out to the constituents about the four-way stop, or any traffic control measures over there. I voiced my concerns that I don’t believe that this is a good plan.”
Griefer said the project is anticipated to occur around late July.
It will be located in Supervisor Brandon’s District Five. Brandon also has concerns, but indicated that it is an intersection that could benefit, long-term, from some type of improvement.
He stated, “There have been a number of accidents at that intersection. This actually wasn’t triggered by the recent fatal accident that we remember about a year ago.”
Brandon said that Caltrans had analyzed data over many years, and there were enough serious accidents to expedite approval of a project.
He added, “On the one hand, great, a state agency moving very quickly is often appreciated with projects. There is a point, though, where it is too fast, not bringing in any stakeholder input, or holding any community education. What we emphasized was asking that they meet with our staff and TCTC to look at alternatives. And, similar to Supervisor Griefer, I expressed strong concerns about the solution they had picked, which they said had scored the highest (four-way stop).”
Brandon added that Caltrans is exploring, long-term, things like a stoplight or roundabout.
Given that so many people are used to the existing setup, he feels that pushing something forward too quickly could lead to unintended consequences, like collisions.
District One Supervisor Mike Holland also chimed in, “We did give the Caltrans guy an earful. We explained to him that ‘you guys have engineers looking at this who don’t live up here, don’t drive our roads, and know anything about our roads.’ They just saw some data.”
Holland concluded, “It is remarkable how fast they are moving. We all make jokes about Caltrans, that it usually takes them two years to plan a meeting, just to have a meeting. And somehow, we went from nothing to, in four months, having implementation.”
Central Sierra Broadcasting also reached out to Caltrans this morning to seek additional information about the planned project. We will pass along more details when they are available.
