Worst 4-way STOP sign controlled intersections?

[mgk920]

What would you consider to be the worst 4-way/all-way STOP sign controlled intersections?

There are a couple on Spencer St just west of I-41 in Appleton's unincorporated west township area that I curse at every time that I drive through them, mainly at the township for their utter cheapness in not either installing signals or replacing them with roundabouts.  There are times when traffic at the easternmost of the two (Nicolet Rd) will back up on Spencer St to points well east from its I-41 undercrossing.

When I roadtripped through the area back in the mid-1990s, there was an intersection turn on US 151 (two suburban-style four lane roads intersecting) in Marion, IA (just outside of Cedar Rapids, IA) that was 4-way STOP sign controlled.  It has since been signalized.

What are some of yours?

Mike

[hotdogPi]

I forget who said it, but someone on this forum says that there are way too many 4-way stops in southeastern Pennsylvania. These are intersections where 4-way stops are more than what's needed, not less.

[MNHighwayMan]

One of the worst ones I can remember is the intersection of Main St S and 11th Avenue in Cambridge, MN used to be a two way stop (11th Ave traffic stopped). But the amount of traffic, plus the railroad tracks immediately east of the intersection, lead to backups. It was easily the worst part I remember about coming and going to school every day. Eventually, sometime when I was in middle school (mid 2000s) the city turned it into a four way stop, which was better but still sucked. Finally in 2009 the city installed a signal there, which you can see in Street View.

[DaBigE]

My top three, all in the Madison, WI area:
Rattman Rd/American Pkwy @ Hoepker Rd
Milwaukee St @ Sprecher Rd
Both of the above have too many lanes, regardless of how many stop signs you post. Obviously they're planning for future growth, and plan to signalize it eventually (equipment is mostly there already, despite not meeting warrants, at least the last time they studied it).

Regent St @ Speedway Rd/Highland Ave This one's been high on the city's signal priority list, but slips by without any changes year after year.

Honorable mention:
Linnerud Dr @ OKeeffe Ave, Sun Prairie, WI. A freshly-minted all-way stop. I've seen the fire department called to this site twice in the last week alone. Walmart driveway...enough said. 

[michravera]

What would you consider to be the worst 4-way/all-way STOP sign controlled intersections?

There are a couple on Spencer St just west of I-41 in Appleton's unincorporated west township area that I curse at every time that I drive through them, mainly at the township for their utter cheapness in not either installing signals or replacing them with roundabouts.  There are times when traffic at the easternmost of the two (Nicolet Rd) will back up on Spencer St to points well east from its I-41 undercrossing.

When I roadtripped through the area back in the mid-1990s, there was an intersection turn on US 151 (two suburban-style four lane roads intersecting) in Marion, IA (just outside of Cedar Rapids, IA) that was 4-way STOP sign controlled.  It has since been signalized.

What are some of yours?

Mike

The least functional one of which I am aware was subsequently replaced, first by a traffic light, soon to be replaced by an interchange. This was at the junction of CASR-58 and US-395 in San Bernardino county, California. If CHP couldn't get out to allow bypass of it on Memorial Day afternoons, it could cause a backup all of the way to Omaha! (realistically all of the way back to I-15)

[DandyDan]

Whenever I make my way back to the part of Northern Illinois generally centered around DeKalb, there seem to be a lot of 4 way stops where I question the need for it. Each Illinois state route intersection that's not in town is a 4 way stop regardless of whether it needs it.

[ftballfan]

M-46 and Algoma Ave near Cedar Springs. Somewhat unusual for there to be a 4-way stop at an intersection of a state highway and a county road

[Hurricane Rex]

I'm going to come back to this likely but in my home town (Sherwood) the worst is Sunset Blvd. and Snyder Park/Aldergrove lane. Its hard to see the stop signs especially before they installed warning lights. It's a lot better now but still has the most stop sign runs in Sherwood.

[dvferyance]

Layton and 124th at the border of Greenfield and New Berlin. To and from the west on Layton feeds into on and off ramps to I-43. This intersection is a nightmare during peak times. It's beyond me why a traffic light was never put there many years ago.

[kphoger]

I loathe four-way stops with multiple lanes in each direction.  It is unrealistic to expect people to keep track of who got there first, when there are eight or more lanes to deal with.

This one in Wichita, with 14 lanes meeting at the intersection, is now a stoplight (thank goodness).  When it was still a four-way, I hated it.

[UCFKnights]

I loathe four-way stops with multiple lanes in each direction.  It is unrealistic to expect people to keep track of who got there first, when there are eight or more lanes to deal with.

This one in Wichita, with 14 lanes meeting at the intersection, is now a stoplight (thank goodness).  When it was still a four-way, I hated it.

Why does who got there first matter? When an intersection is like that, you should always be going with the opposing person... and there seems to be no "set order" of who goes next, its just chaos.

[kphoger]

I loathe four-way stops with multiple lanes in each direction.  It is unrealistic to expect people to keep track of who got there first, when there are eight or more lanes to deal with.

This one in Wichita, with 14 lanes meeting at the intersection, is now a stoplight (thank goodness).  When it was still a four-way, I hated it.

Why does who got there first matter? When an intersection is like that, you should always be going with the opposing person... and there seems to be no "set order" of who goes next, its just chaos.

Your profile says you live in Florida.  Here is the law in your state:

(1) The right-of-way at an intersection may be indicated by stop signs or yield signs as authorized in s. 316.006.

(b) At a four-way stop intersection, the driver of the first vehicle to stop at the intersection shall be the first to proceed. If two or more vehicles reach the four-way stop intersection at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.

So the law expects every driver to keep track of whether each of the other vehicles got to the stop sign before or after theirs, and also whether each of them is to the left or right, and then all agree on what order to proceed in.  So there is a set order, but still ends up being chaos.

[Joe The Dragon]

US-12 in Genoa City, Wisconsin from 70-MPH freeway to stop sign

[kphoger]

US-12 in Genoa City, Wisconsin...

...is not a 4-way STOP sign controlled intersection.  And it also goes down to a 55mph speed limit before the intersection.

[Brian556]

My biggest complaint about all way stops on multi-lane roads is that you often cant see if there is a vehicle at some of the other approaches because you cant see thru somebody's huge fing SUV. Multi-lane all way stops are dysfunctional bs and should be illegal

[plain]

The Church Hill neighborhood in Richmond is littered with 4-way stops (and roundabouts, some of which replaced 4-ways) to the point where even the easternmost mile or so of Broad St is also littered with them. Broad St outside of this neighborhood is the main and most heavily developed arterial in Richmond as well as neighboring Henrico County.

[Hurricane Rex]

US-12 in Genoa City, Wisconsin from 70-MPH freeway to stop sign

Is that even legal?

[jeffandnicole]

US-12 in Genoa City, Wisconsin from 70-MPH freeway to stop sign

Is that even legal?

Find the law/rule that says it's not.

And to give that a little comparison...it's not much different than being on a highway and hitting congestion...which is basically going from 70/75 mph to a stop condition...without the benefit of a stop sign!

[Brandon]

US-12 in Genoa City, Wisconsin from 70-MPH freeway to stop sign

Is that even legal?

It's the end of a freeway that IDOT neglected to complete.  The stop sign in question was supposed to be the end of an exit ramp.

https://goo.gl/maps/h9G72mfXqBp
https://goo.gl/maps/LaYWPzfSNb82

[kphoger]

US-12 in Genoa City, Wisconsin from 70-MPH freeway to stop sign

Is that even legal?

It's the end of a freeway that IDOT neglected to complete.  The stop sign in question was supposed to be the end of an exit ramp.

https://goo.gl/maps/h9G72mfXqBp
https://goo.gl/maps/LaYWPzfSNb82

As I mentioned up-thread, it's not even 70 mph at the end of it.  The limit drops to 55 mph a mile in advance of the stop sign.

[cbeach40]

Thing with that US-12 one, at least the SB approach has elements that makes it feel like a ramp so a traffic control at the crossroad is not entirely unexpected. The E-W movement is on a divided facility - if anything that would be an even worse violation of driver expectancy.

[kphoger]

Thing with that US-12 one, at least the SB approach has elements that makes it feel like a ramp so a traffic control at the crossroad is not entirely unexpected.

There are a billion warning signs (I'm rounding) approaching the intersection, too.  Two of them for the stop sign itself, plus rumble strips.  And the approach curve has a 35mph advisory tab.

The E-W movement is on a divided facility - if anything that would be an even worse violation of driver expectancy.

Meh, it's only divided for less than a half-mile before the stop sign, and the speed limit is 45 mph.

[ftballfan]

US-12 in Genoa City, Wisconsin...

...is not a 4-way STOP sign controlled intersection.  And it also goes down to a 55mph speed limit before the intersection.

M-55 and M-37 meet at a 4-way STOP and both roads have 65 mph speed limits

[webny99]

I will echo what others have said regarding four-way stops on roads with more than two lanes. Fortunately, there are none of these in my area. However, Lakeville, MN, is full of these, and it bugs me to no end every time I visit.

I mapped this route, on which the waypoints are problematic four-way stops. I'd like to see all of these replaced with roundabouts.
This is also rather strange, considering traffic on NY-350 has to stop for basically no reason.

[Flint1979]

M-46 and Algoma Ave near Cedar Springs. Somewhat unusual for there to be a 4-way stop at an intersection of a state highway and a county road

I was wondering where one would be at in Michigan. As much as I travel around this state I would have thought I knew of a real bad one. I haven't been on that stretch of M-46 in years though so I wasn't even aware of it.