Discussion for an additional stop sign at the west end of Nashville town limits made its way to the Brown County Commissioners last week.

Brown County Highway Superintendent Mike Magner said at the March 1 meeting that he was contacted by the Town of Nashville to ask if the county would be willing to put in a three-way stop at West Main Street, Jackson Branch and Helmsburg roads.

Magner said he told the town that in order for the county to install a sign it would require an ordinance both from the town and county.

“In order for us to have a stop sign, we need to have an ordinance that makes it legal to have a stop sign to where law enforcement can enforce it and write tickets if someone runs the stop sign,” Magner said.

“The only way we could agree to do a stop sign — which we’re still discussing — would be for both the town and the county to do several ordinances making that a three-way stop that basically the county would be responsible for (Jackson Branch and Helmsburg Roads). … Town would have one sign, we would have the other (two).”

Discussions for additional signage began in September when residents of Johnson and Main streets said there was a need to provide more safety for drivers and pedestrians.

It was suggested at the September Nashville Town Council meeting that a three-way stop at the edge of town would allow a safe option for drivers and pedestrians in the area.

In November it was determined by Town Council Attorney Wanda Jones that in order to install a stop sign, a traffic study would need to be completed.

Through Purdue University Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) representative and engineer, Laura Slusher, visited between the November and December town council meetings and conducted a traffic study of the area.

Going out of town, Slusher suggested a stop sign on either side of the road before travelers reach Edge O’ Town Condos. Drivers would stop at Jefferson Street, Johnson Street and just before Jackson Branch Road before they leave town.

Under this proposal Edge O’ Town would also have a stop sign installed for those exiting the complex. Drivers coming into town would have a stop sign once they reach town limits.

The Nashville Town Council voted on Dec. 15 to add stop signs to the west end of Main Street, after a traffic study that was conducted showed that more signage was needed in the area.

After some pushback from residents in the area, the council agreed to work with the county to see what could be done to install the signs at the Jackson Branch Road/Helmsburg Road intersection instead.

At the Jan. 19 town council meeting, longtime residents of Jackson Branch Road addressed their concerns with the proposed placement.

Ken and Carol Birkemeier, Jackson Branch Road residents, spoke against the placement of the stop signs at the Jan. 18 town council meeting.

The Birkemeiers have lived on Jackson Branch Ridge since 1978 and Ken told the council he estimates he has traveled through the Helmsburg and Jackson Branch Road intersection about 40,000 times.

Ken told the council he had measured the distance from Edge O’ Town Condos to Jackson Branch to be about 50 feet, about half of what Slusher’s report had indicated.

He said a car turning out of Jackson Branch would not be able to complete its turn if two cars or a delivery truck were at the new sign on Main Street.

He also said that trucks, such as trash collection trucks, traveling west on Helmsburg Road must swing into the eastbound lane to turn onto Jackson Branch Road.

With cars at a stop sign, they will be forced to wait for clearance to be able to negotiate that turn, he said.

Carol said that she has not seen traffic backed up trying to get out of Edge O’ Town and that she did not believe there is a real problem there.

Town council member Andi Wilson said that she had visited the intersections and believed that signage would be better placed at Jackson Branch Road.

Town attorney Wanda Jones said that another traffic study would need to be conducted.

Tana Martin Nelson lives in the condos and said at the meeting that her concern was not the stop signs, but the overall speed at which cars travel.

The speed limit posted on the eastbound lane of Helmsburg Road is at 20 miles per hour.

Magner said his first response to addressing the issue in the area was for a town officer in the area to write speeding tickets in order to slow down traffic.

County Commissioner Jerry Pittman said that it is alleged that the 20 mph sign on Helmsburg Road is not enforceable because it’s not backed by an ordinance by the commissioners.

“We need to look at that and need to look at all of our ordinances to see what we have on the books,” Magner said.

The county would need to accept a traffic study done by the town or do a study of its own to justify putting in a three-way stop at the suggested location, Magner said, then “back it up” with a county ordinance to make the new stop sign legal.

If the county agrees to place a sign at the Jackson Branch intersection, one will not be placed at the Edge O’ Town Condos.

Pittman said he personally didn’t see a problem with a three-way stop at Jackson Branch.

“It might slow people down, if you’ve got to stop up there, you might not be going 50 mph approaching that intersection,” he said.

Magner said the speed limit sign needs to be changed to an advisory sign, warning drivers that the limit will change in town limits.

“We need to do whatever we need to do to make this thing come out,” Pittman said.

“I think there is legitimate concern to having a stop sign at Jackson Branch, given the speed that people do come in at Helmsburg Road. And the fact that it’s a fairly well-traveled intersection.”

Magner added that it is one of the more highly traveled roads in the county.

Pittman and Magner said that the county will get back in touch with the town and see what steps they wish to take.

“We want to work with the town, we’re not enemies, we’re friends,” Pittman said.

“We’re all in this together.”