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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, March 7, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 29, 2004 Two new stop signs in Jacksonville at the intersection of Highway 238 and Oregon Street have transformed the busy intersection into a four- way stop. State transportation officials say some motorists will need time to learn to stop at the new signs. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Habits that won’t stop Some drivers breeze right by two new Jacksonville stop signs on Highway 238 By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE — Two new stop signs provide one more reminder that old habits die hard. For years drivers on Highway 238 have cruised through town without stopping unless someone ventured into a crosswalk. Things changed last week, when state highway officials planted stop signs where the highway crosses Oregon Street, transforming a two-way stop into a four-way stop. Most motorists have made the change, but a few sail through the intersection just like they always have. At least six drivers ignored the new stop signs during one 90-minute interval Sunday: five westbound toward Ruch; one eastbound toward Medford. Their temporary blindness came as no surprise to John Vial, district manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation. "That’s completely normal for a new traffic-control device," Vial said. Advertisement He noted that ODOT sees similar behavior whenever drivers are required to change an old routine. "When you put in something new, people blow right through it," he said. "Traffic-control devices are a mixed bag. They don’t always solve all the problems." The Jacksonville city council requested the stop signs after merchants and residents noted that some motorists did not yield to pedestrians trying to cross Highway 238, also known as California Street where it passes through town. ODOT agreed to post signs for a year to see if they fixed the problem or created new ones. Transportation officials posted bright yellow diamonds above the signs to increase their visibility and erected orange warning signs several blocks before the intersection, but for some people it was as if nothing had changed. "The first day was an absolute nightmare," said Linda Graham, who owns Scheffel’s Toys on the northeast corner California and Oregon streets. "I’ve never seen so many people run a stop sign so blatantly." There were some close calls during the first few days, said Pamela Lumley, who owns Pegasus Gallery a few doors down and across the street from Graham’s toy store. "We’ve seen a lot of near misses and we’ve heard the screeching brakes," Lumley said. She hopes the signs will slow the big trucks that rumble through town. "Every day we have to pick up chunks of mortar from the front wall," she said. "The building shakes when (big trucks) go by." Eastbound traffic backed up well past the Britt Grounds around 1:50 p.m. Sunday when worshippers from Applegate Christian Fellowship came through town on their way home. Several thousand people attend services at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. or noon at the church in Ruch, and most come and go on Highway 238. Graham, the toy store manager, said the stop signs seemed to have made the church traffic flow through town more smoothly, but some church-goers did not like the extra stop-and-go traffic as they crawled toward downtown. "To put a stop sign in the middle of a state highway is wrong," said Dennis Clark of Jacksonville as he and his family returned home from church. Some who were caught up in the long column of the Fellowship traffic didn’t mind the delay. "I think it’s a good idea to slow the traffic," said Jeanne Schattler of Ruch as her SUV crawled toward the intersection. Vial, the ODOT manager, said people eventually form a new habit. "After a while they learn they have to stop. Usually within a few months, everybody’s got it figured out." Reach reporter Bill Kettlerat 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. 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