City of Bend adds stop signs, all-way stop at O.B. Riley Road and Empire Avenue for safety until planned roundabout

(Update: Adding video; stop signs added; comment from nearby business)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- On Tuesday, the city of Bend added new stop signs at O.B. Riley Road at the Crusher Avenue and Empire Avenue intersection.  Because of increasing traffic volume, the city says the intersection now qualifies for an all-way-stop configuration.

O.B. Riley Road has changed from a low-volume rural road to a busier urban street, officials said. The corridor has seen new construction of housing developments. It’s also a route to the North Star Elementary School and the Riley Ranch Nature Preserve.

East-west traffic on Empire Avenue is also increasing.  

The City’s 2020 GO Bond projects include building a roundabout there in the future, but the city says that project is more than three years away.

 “An all-way-stop control improves traffic flow and safety where two higher-traffic volume main streets meet,” said Assistant City Engineer Janet Hruby. “Until the roundabout is built, the all-way stop will improve visibility that is limited with higher speeds and the off-set streets at that intersection.

"It will make it easier for people driving to see people in the crosswalk and make it easier for people walking and biking to cross O.B. Riley Road.”

“Over the past eight years, 20 crashes have occurred at the location, and 14 of them resulted in some kind of injury,” said Hruby. “The all-way stop will help reduce the number and severity of crashes.”

The most common crash type involved a through vehicle on Empire and a southbound vehicle on O.B. Riley.

A business near the corner, Bobcat of Central Oregon, says someone even drove through their fence, so they're glad to see the change.

"I think it's about time that we have some," salesman Dan Elms said Tuesday. "We've had almost daily accidents or close, close encounters."