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***image1***Brig. Gen.
Rosanne Bailey
435th Air Base Wing commander
The Action Line is your link to help answer questions and concerns about life in the KMC.
When normal command agency channels haven’t been able to resolve your concerns, send me an e-mail. Only e-mails that are genuinely applicable across the community are addressed in the Kaiserslautern American. Send e-mails to the Action.Line@ramstein.af.mil. To receive a reply, please include your name, address (or workplace) and phone number.
Issue:
The 4-way intersection at Lincoln and Jefferson streets has both stoplights and stop signs. Clearly, the stoplights are the over riding traffic control during daylight hours. And, I understand that late in the evenings, the stoplights may be shut off and traffic control reverts to the 4-way stop rules. However, the existence of both stoplights and stop signs is very confusing to drivers. In the two years we have been here I have heard countless stories from both folks who (in error) almost hit someone because they were focused on the stop sign and not the stoplight and inadvertently ran the red light as well as from folks who almost got hit as other drivers made the same mistake.
Recently I was going through the green light on Jefferson toward the Northside Fitness Center at an appropriate speed and only missed being hit head on by someone running the light across the intersection by slamming on my brakes. Can’t we come up with an alternative traffic control method, ie., take down the stop signs and use flashing lights at night, or cover the stop signs while the lights are functioning? Thank you.
Response:
German law requires the use of traffic signs on traffic lights to provide a means of traffic control in the event of a power outage. Because of this legal requirement, we cannot eliminate the signs or cover them up. However, your action line brings up another issue. While requiring the use of traffic signs, German law does not recognize 4-way stops as a proper method to control traffic in 4-way intersections.
To rectify the situation we will change the signage to meet German standards. Lincoln Blvd. will be designated as a priority road and Jefferson Ave. will keep the stop signs. This should alleviate confusion at the intersection by standardizing traffic control at this intersection with others throughout Ramstein and the local area.
(For an example, see Street SMART sign on Page 6 )
