Frequently Asked Questions

They are set by City Council Ordinance, determined by the methodology set forth in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), and Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 32 "Louisiana Highway Regulatory Act" which has been adopted by the City of Shreveport under City Code Chapter 90.

Traffic signals do not always reduce or prevent accidents and are not always as asset to traffic control. When can a traffic signal be an asset instead of a liability to safety? In order to answer this traffic engineers have to ask and answer a series of questions: 1. Are there so many vehicles on both streets that controls are needed to assign R.O.W. or relieve congestion? 2. Is the traffic on the main street so consistently heave that drivers on the side street must try to cross when it is unsafe? 3. Are there some many pedestrians trying to cross a busy main street that confusing, congested, or hazardous conditions result? 4. Are there so many school aged children trying to cross the street at the same tiems that they need special controls for their supervision or protection? If so, is a signal the best solution? 5. Are signals at this location going to help drivers maintain a uniform pace along the major street without being stopped unnecessarily? 6. Does the collision history indicate that a signal will reduce the probability of driver actions which cause collision? 7. Is the character of the minor street such that additional traffic attracted by the existence of a signal, desirable to the adjacent neighborhood? 8. Is there a combination of the above conditions and factors which indicates that a traffic signal will result in improvement rather than a detriment? *For more details on this subject please go to the Traffic Engineering Web page and look under Additional Information and then click on this topic.

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no! Children playing in a residential area is not uncommon. Drivers recognize this fact and expect the presence of children: therefore, "Slow Children At Play" signs are warning of an obvious condition. Our experience and studies by other agencies have shown that attempts to warn of obvious conditions fail to achieve the desired safety benefits. There is no evidence that suggest that these signs prevent accidents or reduce speeds. As these signs are not recognized by the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and there are definite problems associated with them, it is our policy not to install "Slow Children At Play" signs. *For more detailed information on this topic visit the Traffic Engineering Web page. Under Additional Information you will find a complete explanation on this topic as well as several others.

A stop sign is one of our most valubale and effective control devices when used at the right place under the right conditions. It is intended to help drivers and pedestrians at an intersection to decide who has the right-of-way. One common misuse of stope signs is to arbitrarily interrupt through trafic, either by causing it to stop, or by causing such an inconvenience as to force the traffic to use other routes. Where stop signs are installed as "nuisances" or "speed breakers," there is a high incidence of intentional violation. In those locations where vehicles do stop, the speed reduction is effective only in the immediate vicinity of the stop sign, and frequently speeds are actually higher between intersections. For these reasons, it should not be used as a speed control device. Well-developed, nationally recognized guidelines help to indicate when such controls become necessary. These guidelines take into consideration among other things, the probability of vehicles arriving at an intersection at the same time, then length of time traffic must wait to enter, and the availability of safe crossing opportunities. *For more detailed information on this topic visit the Traffic Engineering Web page. Under Additional Information you will find a complete explanation on this topic as well as several others.