Mess of a North Park four-way stop gets worse

It was about a year ago that the notification arrived. It was from the city, giving notice that work was to begin installing traffic signal lights at the confluence of North Park Way, 33rd St, Boundary St., and the entrance/exit of the 805 South. You know, that mess a block south of University Ave, where a strange four-way stop (for now, controlled by four sun-faded stop signs) gives drivers coming off the 805 south the option of going straight onto North Park Way, making a “soft” left onto 33rd, or a “hard” left onto Boundary. Coming from University, you have the option to turn left onto the 805, right onto North Park Way, straight ahead to continue on 33rd, or go straight-ish (and slightly to the left) onto Boundary. 

This understandably leads to confusion, as evidenced by the frequent screeching tires of those who don’t (or choose not to) understand right-of-way and related etiquette of four-way stops. Honking is a regular occurrence, as the proper use of turn signals appears to be more of a suggestion nowadays.

Mysterious patches of glass and the colorful plastic shards of tail light housing is as common a sight near that intersection as the detritus of the professional panhandlers who cycle through shifts there.

No Parking signs came with the dates Wednesday May 3 – Friday May 5, 2023. Those dates came and went.

I for one cheered the notification, and looked forward to the potential taming of this beast.

In true government fashion, the notification was in general terms, stating a date in October 2022 when work was scheduled to begin, with the anticipated end date at the middle of April 2023. Work began, and various crews came out sporadically and dug trenches, laid foundations and cables, and, ultimately, erected THREE new poles with traffic signal/street light combos, the kinds where a sizeable appendage halfway up reaches out and over the street. The traffic signals were (and still are) wrapped in a blue plastic protective sheeting, ostensibly waiting for the job to be totally finished to be illuminated. 

Construction vehicles would occasionally commandeer sizable parts of the curb – which made for what was already tough parking on the neighborhood’s streets even worse – but were usually gone in a day or two. So when a fourth set of poles appeared by the curb on 33rd Street, taking up at least two possible parking spots, it seemed like another temporary annoyance. The poles (more accurately, a single pole in several pre-installation pieces) came with traffic cones and temporary No Parking signs, with the dates Wednesday May 3 – Friday May 5, 2023.

Those dates came and went, yet the poles remained. Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and then Labor Day all came and went, and the poles remain.

Those dates came and went, yet the poles remained.

Details or information online is scarce. If one searches the city’s website, it is unclear if the work on this intersection is part of the University Ave Mobility Project (S00915). The interactive map of city projects suggests it is not. There was a pdf document online about Project NP-T8, which appears to be it.  It includes a line item to Install traffic signals at Boundary Street/I805 on-off ramps for a cost of $175,000, which includes the removal of the existing raised median. However, under “Schedule”, it simply says: Design and Construction will be scheduled when funding is identified. An inquiry sent through the city’s website was not responded to. 

So as we approach the one-year anniversary of the stated beginning of the project – and, more importantly, six months after what was anticipated to be the completion date – the intersection is still controlled by the four faded stop signs. The three poles that were installed look great, and will likely look even better once the blue plastic sheeting is taken off the traffic signals and they are energized. I assume that is pending the installation of the fourth pole, which is currently in pieces on the curb along 33rd St, and nobody seems to know when or if that is going to happen.