Downtown Chico’s roads are horribly laid out and make driving downtown stressful and dangerous. There are four-way intersections where there are only yield signs for two of the ways, there will be a stop sign at one intersection then not on the next and one-way streets are everywhere. 

I had never seen a yield sign at a four-way intersection before I came to Chico. 

When I started driving in Chico I hated it. I still do, just a little less now. Given that all the roads were new to me I would get confused by the one-ways and the inconsistency of stop signs. 

Chico is a college town filled with new drivers who have only been behind the wheel for a couple of years and people who have never driven in town before. Downtown Chico has made it extremely dangerous for students to test their driving skills. 

When looking at Cherry, Hazel, Chestnut streets and Normal Avenue specifically I have not been able to find any consistency in what intersections get stop signs, yields or a four-way stop. 

Especially from Thursday night through Saturday night when there are hundreds of students walking around downtown near Ivy Street all the way down to Chestnut. There is little to no lighting on these roads at night and students are crossing the street all the time. 

The mix of all of the factors I have mentioned makes this an extremely dangerous situation for people. Many intersections don’t have stop signs where people cross the road and with the lack of light, I am surprised more people don’t get hit. 

It would be extremely easy to fix this situation by just making every intersection a four-way stop. Yes, it may be annoying for some drivers but it would be much safer and a lot less confusing for new Chico drivers. 

I should not have to wonder at every intersection whether I have a stop sign, a yield or nothing. It stresses me out also not knowing what signs the other streets have at the intersection. 

For example, when I am driving northbound on Chestnut Street I will have to stop at a stop sign, I will have to yield and then I will have no sign. Why are the roads like this? 

That is truly what I want to know because, from my point of view, I don’t see how in a college town any of this makes sense. 

Over the last year and a half of living in Chico, I have decided that it is extremely dangerous for both pedestrians and drivers.

I think that something has to change downtown to create a safer environment for everyone.  

Owen Daniels can be reached at [email protected].