howeenterprise.com
Monday, March 23, 2015
Page #10
Study to be done at intersection of Haning and Denny Streets
Left: 1959 Downtown Howe with the traffic light. Right: 2015 Downtown Howe with the four-way stop that was implemented in the 1980s. Longtime residents of Howe under the age of 35 may not remember the traffic light that existed at the intersection of Haning and Denny Streets in front of the historic downtown district. The light was taken down in the 1980s and replaced with a four-way stop which has been in place ever since. Due to the revitalization of downtown with several new businesses, a few complaints have come in that the northeast corner stop sign is nearly impossible to see with all of the vehicles that are now parked in that area especially during lunch and dinner hours. Those concerns were raised at the city council meeting last Tuesday. The intersection is legally controlled by TxDOT because of Denny Street and the east side of Haning Street are state roads. "The city cannot do anything to change the traffic control devices there other than ask TxDOT" said
Howe City Administrator Joe Shephard. "They're not really interested in putting in a red light. The four-way stop signs are much more efficient especially when everyone knows they're there." One of the suggestions that was made was to eliminate two of the parking spaces in front of the new EDC building at 101 E. Haning St. Shephard asked the council for direction on the issue and said that they could ask TxDOT to do a study on the intersection which could take weeks or months. Mayor Jeff Stanley discussed raising the stop sign on the northeast corner and the city does have the authority to do that, but it was discussed that raising it out of normal eye-level might cause a greater issue. Councilman Bill French suggested that this is an isolated incident and
didn't see the need for the city to bear any expense at this time. "We might request that the police department, when available, to watch that intersection, but other than that, I don't think we need to take any action right now." said French. Police Chief Carl Hudman couldn't locate any accidents at that particular intersection. Councilwoman Debbie Lowery wanted to move forward with the investigation of the intersection by TxDOT or Grayson County and then be reviewed by the council to see action needs to be taken depending the study results. "Even the loss of one life or someone getting hurt; we have the obligation here." said Lowery. A member in the audience, Bill Stambaugh, made the suggestion
of a stop sign that is lit up with amber lighting that can be found in these types of locations. In the end, it was determined by the council to go ahead with the study by TxDOT and find the results of the needed traffic control at the ever-growing busy intersection.
