Downtown intersections to be converted to four-way stops

DAYTON — Officials with the City of Dayton recently announced that the intersections in downtown Dayton are currently acting as four-way stops as the city is examining the possibility of repairing the lights.

Dayton Police Department Investigator Eric Ewton said on Monday that the city may consider eventually removing the traffic lights and replacing them with stop signs.

With all downtown intersections with traffic lights blinking red, Ewton said the intersections are functioning as four-way stops.

“These intersections should now be treated as four-way stops and are subject to Tennessee traffic laws concerning travel at intersections that are not controlled by lights,” Ewton said.

“We will be enforcing these laws if we see infractions in order to keep everyone as safe as possible as they travel through town.”

Tennessee Code Annotated states that “the driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle which has entered the intersection from a different highway or drive. When two vehicles enter an intersection from different highways or drives at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.”

While the lights are eventually set to be repaired, city officials said that when the state was repairing local highways last year, a study was performed that determined that converting downtown Dayton intersections to four-way stops would provide better traffic flow in the area.