Monday, October 12, 2015

Unclear Precedence at Cecil Newman Lane and Nicollet Avenue

This is a BIG pictures post so you can see the stop and yield signs.

Here's a Google Maps view of the intersections at Cecil Newman Lane, Nicollet Ave, and 29th Street.

Nicollet is an important connector for bicyclist, connecting the Midtown Greenway with loads of Eat Street destinations, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and downtown.



 Google Maps view


Cecil Newman Lane westbound has yield signs at Nicollet indicating that drivers on Cecil Newman must yield to cross traffic.

 Google Maps Street View



Nicollet Avenue northbound has a stop sign at Cecil Newman Lane indicating that drivers on Nicollet Ave must yield to cross traffic.

 Google Maps Street View


29th Street eastbound at Nicollet has a stop sign (as it should because of much lower volumes of traffic off 29th compared to Nicollet), but it's not part of the Cecil Newman/Nicollet intersection.

 Google Maps Street View



Who wins?  Who has the right of way between Westbound Cecil Newman drivers or Northbound Nicollet Drivers?  Because there's no clear answer, the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Devices generally forbids the use of both stop signs and yield signs at the same intersection.

Here are some references:

Minnesota Traffic Regulations:


169.201 YIELD SIGN.

The driver of a vehicle approaching a yield sign shall slow to a speed that is reasonable for conditions of traffic and visibility, and stop if necessary, and yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian legally crossing the roadway, and to all vehicles on the intersecting street or highway which are so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.

169.20 RIGHT-OF-WAY.

Subdivision 1.Approaching intersection.

(b) When two vehicles enter an intersection controlled by stop signs or by blinking red traffic signals requiring drivers or vehicles from any direction to stop before proceeding, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.

Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices:

Section 2B.4 Right-of-Way at Intersections
Support:
01 State or local laws written in accordance with the "Uniform Vehicle Code" (see Section 1A.11) establish the right-of-way rule at intersections having no regulatory traffic control signs such that the driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection must yield the right-of-way to any vehicle or pedestrian already in the intersection. When two vehicles approach an intersection from different streets or highways at approximately the same time, the right-of-way rule requires the driver of the vehicle on the left to yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right. The right-of-way can be modified at through streets or highways by placing YIELD (R1-2) signs (see Sections 2B.8 and 2B.9) or STOP (R1-1) signs (see Sections 2B.5 through 2B.7) on one or more approaches.
Standard:
11 Except as provided in Section 2B.9, STOP signs and YIELD signs shall not be installed on different approaches to the same unsignalized intersection if those approaches conflict with or oppose each other.

No comments:

Post a Comment