TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa is continuing to add four-way stop signs throughout the city, in an effort to make roads safer for pedestrians and drivers.

As an example, the city’s Mobility Department just added several new four-way intersections around Plant High School.  

Drivers will now see new stop signs along Himes Avenue at San Jose Street and W. Barcelona Street. There’s also one on San Miguel Street and Sterling Avenue at the school's entrance.

In addition to the stop signs, the city also drew several new crosswalks in the area, added parking spots and made changes to the car line at Plant High School.

Officials say the idea is to reduce crashes with projects like this.

“Every project the city has on a roadway — no matter how big or small — is an opportunity for us to look at the roadway and see if we can make it safer,” said Tampa Mobility and Infrastructure Project Coordinator Brandie Miklus.

Tampa has also been using traffic data to add in new four-way stop signs at different locations around the city to improve safety.

Experts say one thing the four-way stops do is slow drivers down, which helps even when school is not in.

“That makes it better for neighborhoods,” said Tampa City Council member Lynn Hurtak in an interview. “So folks who live in these neighborhoods will see a huge impact, even when school is not in pickup or drop off. They’ll see slower drivers — that’s what this initiative is all about.”

These projects also support Tampa’s Vision Zero mission, with the goal of ending deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes.

Tampa’s Mobility Department has added more than 100 four-way stop intersections to the city's roadways since October 2021.