CULLMAN, Ala. – The stop signs at the Arnold Street Northeast railroad crossing in downtown Cullman are set to be removed this week by direction of the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT).
A statement from the City of Cullman Thursday said, “After an on-site review of current features at the Arnold Street NE railroad crossing, it was determined that there is a redundancy of traffic control devices, according to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), 2009 edition.
“Therefore, to eliminate the redundancy, and at the direction of the Alabama Department of Transportation, the stop signs will be removed on Arnold Street NE at the railroad crossing this week.”
The Tribune sat down with Leanne West, assistant to Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs and City of Cullman Engineer Erica York to get more information.
When asked how long the stop signs have been in place, West did not know specifically, but said, “Forever. They were there before the (railroad) stop bars.”
“Before the lights and the bells were put in, they were there,” York said. “That’s what actually made people stop. And then when, Greg (Powe) was telling, when CSX came in and installed those lights, he actually posed the question about whether or not the stoplights need to come out and never got an answer so we just kept them up.”
York said supplemental signs will go up.
“There’re going to have to be some supplemental signs that go up on First (Avenue) to let them (other drivers) know that cross traffic does not stop. So, it’ll be however long it takes to make those signs and get them put up, too. I would say probably tomorrow (Friday). I’d give them a day to get those put back up and take them down, because we don’t want to take them down and not have any kind of sign.”
York wants residents to be aware that taking the stop signs down was not a City decision.
“We were given direction from the State; it’s not just us (the City) saying ‘Oh we’ll just take them down now.’ We were given direction from the State. We were given exact manuals to reference and everything. It’s not just an out-of-the-blue thing.”
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