Traffic Safety

Request a Stop Sign

Every year, we receive many inquiries regarding the installation of stop signs. Before installing a stop sign, nationally established criteria must be satisfied. In reviewing an intersection, traffic engineers must consider the following to see if these requirements are met:

• The amount of vehicular and pedestrian traffic
• The accident history at the intersection
• The proximity of schools or parks

Traffic studies show that when stop signs are installed when not needed, or are overused, they cause motorists to ignore the right of way rule or stop signs, making all intersections in the City more dangerous. For a more detailed discussion on stop signs, review the City’s Stop Sign Fact Sheet. After reviewing the fact sheet, if you feel a stop sign is needed at a City intersection, please submit a request online at our Citizen Support Center.

Red Curbing

Red curbs indicate no-parking zones where stopping, standing, or parking are prohibited at any time. Buses may stop in a red zone marked or signed as a bus zone. In lieu of red zones, “no parking” signs may be used to enforce the red zone.

Critical red zones are established in any area of the city where the presence of parked vehicles at the curb create an unsafe environment for pedestrian and vehicular traffic or where parking on narrow streets would create unfavorable conditions. Red curbs promote safe vehicle maneuverability and are designed to preserve adequate street width. Non-critical red zones include curb space in front of fire hydrants, United States Post Office mailboxes, and appropriately signed and marked public transit bus stops.

Requests for red curbing can be made online at our Citizen Support Center.

Uncontrolled Intersections

Traveling through the City, you’ve most likely come across an uncontrolled intersection, or any intersection with no official traffic control device to designate vehicular right-of-way. Such intersections are missing what seems to be a key element of safe intersections—a stop sign. When such signs are absent, most people assume they have the right-of-way and pass through the intersection with no hesitation. This tendency is what makes uncontrolled intersections very dangerous.

The Utah Driver Handbook warns drivers to “approach uncontrolled intersections with caution. Slow down and be ready to stop for crossing or oncoming traffic.” Absence of signs should encourage greater caution at an intersection, not less.

Let us know of problematic intersections online at our Citizen Support Center, and we will investigate if a stop or yield sign would be warranted at that location. If requirements for a stop or yield sign are not currently met, the best way to improve the safety of uncontrolled intersections is to approach them slowly, not assuming the right-of-way simply because there is no sign. Encourage neighbors and friends to apply such caution as well.

Speed Bumps

Though effective at slowing vehicles, the City does not employ speed bumps as a traffic calming measure because of the disadvantages that they present:

1. Expensive to install and maintain
2. Expensive to remove
3. Interference with the response time of emergency vehicles
4. Increased wear on residential and commercial vehicles
5. Reduced property values because prospective buyers reject homes near speed bumps
6. Increased noise levels
7. Increased gas consumption and reduced fuel efficiency

There are other traffic calming practices that the City uses to promote pedestrian-friendly environments and reduce vehicular speeding aside from speed bumps.