The City of Tampa’s Mobility Crews are installing several new four-way stops to improve safety in neighborhoods and school districts throughout Tampa. It’s working to create safer road conditions by adding four-way stops near Tampa’s local schools, busy intersections, and within neighborhoods. The City of Tampa’s Mobility Department has completed over 80 four-way stop intersections since October 2021, with plans for many more.
The City of Tampa’s Citywide Multiway Stop Sign Program is a part of the Mobility Department’s “Quick Build” Initiative. Included in this initiative are plans for four-way stops, improvements to the bicycle and pedestrian network, and other road improvements to create safer, more walkable neighborhoods for all.
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The addition of four-way stops has already provided several benefits to neighborhoods like Seminole Heights, which recently received one of the new four-way stops at the intersection of Comanche Avenue and Branch Avenue. Benefits include:
- Substantially reducing crashes that result in injuries
- Prevents drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians from having to navigate crossing busy lanes of traffic
- Easy and fast installation compared to other traffic signals.
- Inexpensive to install, compared to roundabouts or traffic signals
- Improves experience of residents throughout neighborhood streets, as well as adjacent, busier streets
This is a part of the City of Tampa and Mayor Jane Castor’s commitment to Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate roadway fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.
“Our goal is to make walking, biking, and taking transit a more comfortable experience,” said Alana Brasier, City of Tampa Chief Planner and lead of the Quick Build Program. “It takes a long time to see noticeable differences in crash numbers, but we’re addressing the policies, people, and infrastructure needed to plan for the future and position our city for safer streets.”
Other examples of Tampa’s Quick Build Program include installing enhanced crosswalks with rectangular rapid flashing beacons, painted curb extensions, flex posts, and other signs and pavement markings to reduce speeds. The Mobility Department will be transitioning to a neighborhood-wide focus on traffic calming over the next year.