BELTON – The Bell County District Court voted 4-1 Monday against the creation of a four-lane stop turtle concourse at the intersection of Chaparral and Featherline Road near South Killeen.
Fourth District Commissioner Louie Minor, a Democrat from Killeen, was the only dissenting vote.
Minor had been a strong advocate for a four-way stop sign intersection at the intersection of Chaparral and Featherline and held a town hall meeting last week at Killeen Police headquarters, which is near that intersection. He said he was responding to voices from the community.
But the other commissioners, particularly 2nd District Commissioner Bobby Whitson, R-Harker Heights, argued that putting more stop signs there could worsen the traffic situation and possibly make it even more unsafe. There is already a stop sign on Featherline, but not on Chaparral. Both are two-lane roads with little to no shoulder.
The intersection quickly becomes congested during school drop-off and pick-up times. With Chaparral High School and a new middle school nearby, traffic is expected to increase even further during the upcoming school year, which begins this Wednesday.
Minor told the Herald after the meeting that he felt Judge David Blackburn and Whitson had “lost touch.”
“They’ve been in office for over six years and now they suddenly want a traffic study, and there’s no doubt what that traffic study will reveal,” he said.
Minor also said he was offended by Blackburn calling the stop sign situation “political.”
“These two are making this a political issue,” he said. “Safety is now a political issue … The county has put up 23 stop signs and not once have we done an engineering study on it.”
Blackburn said during the meeting that the commissioners had to make a “subjective decision based on objective data”.
He said Minor and Whitson were “diametrically opposed” and did not have all the facts from an investigation into the warrants, so it was primarily a “political issue.”
Bell County Engineer Bryan Neaves said a study conducted by the city of Killeen would serve as a “decision-making tool” regarding the stop signs.
Minor said there have been eight traffic accidents in the last 12 months, citing emergency services, which he said justified putting up the stop signs.
The stop signs were intended as a temporary measure, as most commissioners and the public agreed that traffic lights and turn lanes were necessary. However, approval of these measures would take much longer, possibly more than a year.
“Traffic is a problem there, there’s no doubt about that,” Whitson said, but explained that accidents are more likely to occur during rush hour and that the area is not a priority for SAFER Streets grants.
At a public hearing on the issue on Monday, most speakers supported installing the stop signs, but some opponents cited traffic problems as their main concern.
Peter Yong said he couldn’t get out of his driveway for 15 or 20 minutes while school was in session.
“It’s very frustrating,” he said. “The stop sign won’t solve the problem long-term, but it will at least be a temporary solution. This way every driver will have the opportunity to get off. Right now on Featherline and Chaparral they don’t have the opportunity to get off.”
Alanna Green, a student at Chaparral High School, received 127 signatures from teachers and classmates demanding that stop signs be placed at the intersection.
She said she had just gotten her driver’s license and that while a stop sign would not be a permanent solution, it would help increase safety.
“It’s really dangerous for anyone driving on Featherline and Chaparral Road to Chaparral High School,” she said. “And not only that, with the new middle school, Jimmy Don Aycock Middle School, it’s going to be even more unsafe.”
