Entrances to the Bruce Square are back to requiring all vehicles come to a stop first, just as Bruce Mayor Rudy Pope wants it.
The stop signs at all entrances to the square were switched to “yield” signs last week by MDOT officials, but 
Monday they were replaced with new-and-improved “stop” signs.
“This is the way we want it. It’s the safest thing for everybody,” Mayor Pope said. “We appreciate MDOT working with us.”
Bruce officials first made the switch from yield to stop signs in 2012 citing a number of traffic accidents, particularly in front of Jeffery’s on the west side of the square.
“No one yields, they just keep driving, and it was impossible for anyone to back out of the parking places in front of our store,” said Jeffery’s owner Ellen Shaw, who now serves as a town alderwoman. “We’ve had several wrecks in front of the store. We’re definitely happy to see the stop signs back up.”
The confusion started last week when Mayor Pope asked MDOT officials, who were painting white lines on the road at the Hwy. 32 and Hwy. 9 intersection signifying a place to stop, if they would do the same at the stop signs entering the square.
“We feel like the lines on the road will help drivers recognize they are supposed to stop entering the square,” Mayor Pope said.
Upon closer inspection of their maps, MDOT workers said the signs entering the square were supposed to be yields, not stops.
Mayor Pope explained the city received permission from the state to make the change to stop signs in 2012.
MDOT officials informed him they would have to verify that with the state and even if stop signs are approved, the stop signs that were installed were too small and didn’t meet state highway specifications.
MDOT officials then changed all the stop signs to yields until the matter could be worked out.
It was verified at the state level that the stop signs had been approved and MDOT workers were busy replacing all the yields Monday morning with MDOT?approved stop signs.
While in Bruce, MDOT workers also installed new LED bulbs in the stop light at the Hwy. 9-32 intersection and completed road striping there.
They are scheduled to repave portions of Hwy. 32 this summer, including the Bruce Square.
Mayor Pope said the existing pavement on the square would be pulled up as part of that process to get the pavement where it should be with the curbs around the square.
The city also hopes to do some repair work and possibly move some water lines under the highway around the square during that pro-ject.