Q: Why were the stop signs removed on Jersey Ridge Road at East Lombard Street in Davenport? It is almost impossible to cross Jersey Ridge on Lombard or Elm Street now as traffic flies by!

— Quad-Citian

A: The Davenport City Council voted unanimously to remove the four-way stop from Jersey Ridge and Lombard and now have stop signs on Lombard only, said Gary Statz, city traffic engineer. The intersection had been a four-way stop since 2000.

Statz said traffic engineers use the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as the guide for many decisions regarding signs, pavement markings and signals. He said the book, which is used throughout the country, specifically states that “stop signs should not be used for speed control.” It also states that “multiway stop control is used where the volume of traffic on the intersecting road is approximately equal.”

Statz said speed control appeared to be the reason the stop signs were installed in 2000, as the intersection was not a high-accident area. He said the daily traffic volume on Jersey Ridge is 10 times that of Lombard, which forced many drivers to stop for no apparent reason. Such a practice leads to disrespect of stop signs, wastes time and fuel and increases pollutants, he said.

A speed study was conducted with the stop signs in place — and one month after removal — at Jersey Ridge and Central Park Avenue (one block north of Lombard). The speeds actually were almost 1 mph lower after the stop signs were removed, Statz said.

“Obviously, speeds will increase at Lombard after removal of the signs, but data collected by the police department showed that the average speed at the intersection was 33 mph in the 30 mph zone,” he said.

Drivers who used Lombard will notice that it takes longer to cross Jersey Ridge without the four-way stop, but it’s only an additional 11 seconds in delay on average during the peak hours, according to Statz’s calculations. “This is more than offset by the 13-second savings in average delay for drivers on Jersey Ridge,” he said. “The afternoon rush hour has changed from a procession of vehicles moving forward one car length at a time through the intersection and speeding up to make up for the lost time to vehicles going through the corridor at a consistent and reasonable speed.”

Q: Where can I write actress Lauren Lee Smith from “CSI?”

— Ryan, Davenport

A: You can send Smith fan mail at Lauren Lee Smith, Kirk Talent Agencies, 134 Abbott St., Suite 402, Vancouver, B.C., V6B 2K4, Canada.