Signal changes at College, Faulkner to go into effect

News-Times
News-Times

Impending changes to the traffic signal at College Avenue and Faulkner Street could go into effect this week.

The El Dorado City Council voted on Nov. 9 to change the control and coordination of the traffic signal at the intersection after Robert Edmonds, director of public works, said a traffic count showed that a conventionally controlled traffic light was not warranted.

With the new traffic controls, the signal would flash yellow to caution north-south traffic along College and red to warn east-west traffic on Faulkner to stop at the intersection.

Edmonds said city crews are awaiting the arrival of a piece of equipment that is needed to change the traffic control signal.

“We had to order a part because that traffic light operates on the same control box as the one at College and Mount Holly,” Edmonds explained.

He said a couple of calls and questions about the necessity of the traffic signal, given its proximity to the one at College and Mount Holly, prompted the department of public works to conduct a traffic count at College and Faulkner.

The count showed that an average of 10,000 vehicles travel per day along College, while 10 percent of that number crosses College along Faulkner each day.

Another traffic signal is located about three blocks south at College and Main.

“We had a couple of people asking why is it there. I don’t know. It’s been there as long as I can remember,” Edmonds said, referring to the traffic light at College and Faulkner.

“So, we went out to see if it was warranted, and the traffic numbers just weren’t there. The numbers are too far apart.”

A former El Dorado mayor steered an effort to remove the light years ago in response to a citizens’ request, he said.

“He said there was opposition to it, and he couldn’t get the city council to approve it,” Edmonds said.

Since the city council’s vote on Nov. 9, Edmonds said there has been some concern about visibility at the intersection, particularly when looking to the left while traveling west on Faulkner.

City crews have addressed the issue.

“When you’re looking south, there was a row of bushes there. The property owner gave us permission to remove that, so you can see better now,” Edmonds said. “Hopefully, (this) week we can get everything functioning like it should be.”

Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].

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