Residents say new stop signs in Bryan neighborhood are catching drivers by surprise

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – New stop signs at the busy intersection of Wilkes Street and Bonham Drive in Bryan are raising concerns for some residents nearby.

On Sunday a pickup truck attempting to avoid collision with another vehicle that was stopped at the stop sign went off-road and ran into a light pole in the Campbell family’s front yard.

Max Campbell said he was in the far back bedroom when he heard the noise. At first, he thought it was a “fender bender.”

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“All I heard was the car squealing then I heard the crash,” Campbell said. “I didn’t actually know exactly what was going on. I got out of bed, put on some clothes on real quick then I see a car with almost the entire engine caved in the dead center where it hit the pole.”

The light pole that was once upright now sits in the Campbell’s yard waiting to be fixed.

However, one of Campbell’s biggest concerns is after three weeks of the signs being there, some drivers still seem to be caught off guard.

“It was to keep people from speeding down the road, unfortunately, people still do, they don’t see the stop sign and they end up running it,” Campbell said.

On a daily basis, Campbell said over a thousand cars pass through the area. Some drivers are barely noticing the stop signs causing them to come to a sudden stop, Campbell said.

“You hear it a lot especially at night when people are coming in they see the stop sign at the last second, you hear it,” Campbell said.

The family worries that without a light illuminating the signs it could cause another accident like what happened on Sunday.

“The pole light actually wasn’t even working for about a year and a half, and now they started working again, but even while it’s on or off people don’t notice the stop sign and they constantly get hit by it,” Campbell said.

The intersection also sits between Sadberry Intermediate and Bonham Elementary School. According to the City of Bryan, the four-way stop and no parking signs were added to make sure residents could enter and exit during the school drop-off times.

With school about to start, Campbell said he hopes people slow down for the children crossing the schools across the street.

“When that happens there will be a cross guard that will be able to stop traffic when need be, but people just don’t see the stop sign even if they go the speed limit they can’t stop in time when they see it at the last second,” Campbell said.

Bryan Texas Utilities said they plan to replace the light pole next week until then Campbell said he plans to install so lights that will hopefully make the sign by his home more visible.

“Just to make it aware because right now those flags aren’t doing anything, so something needs to change, so if I have to spend a little bit of electricity to do it myself I’ll do what I can, but unfortunately I can’t do anything about the other side,” Campbell said.