Tree vs. Stop Sign — Both Win
As I reported back in February, the new street tree planted in the tree box just east of Warder at the northeast corner of Princeton Place was placed directly in front of the stop sign for west bound traffic. While fixing this seemed like a no brainer, getting the issue resolved apparently was harder than average Joe citizen realized.
Because the tree was “properly planted” in an empty tree box — and because moving a newly planted tree is no small thing — DDOT representatives instead focused on moving the stop sign. This was especially to their liking when they noted that the sign was also located in the tree box. However, it took nearly three months of follow up, the inclusion of Councilmember Graham, and some threatened public shaming from a resident, before DDOT acted. Their bottom line — “We are not sacrificing safety for a tree.”
So, now the stop sign is moved. Instead of moving further behind the tree it has been moved in front of the tree. I guess, in the end, there was a simple solution after all.
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May 7, 2012 at 9:04 am
Hi Kent – who was your DDOT contact on this issue? I have some residents stating that DDOT is citing a “no new trees within 40′ of an intersection” rule on some tree planting requests. Applying this suburban arterial style rule would eliminate way too many of our street trees!
May 22, 2012 at 11:58 am
Huzzah common sense!