Two new stop signs on both approaches to a one-lane bridge on Queen City Park Road are causing quite the commotion in a small neighborhood on the Burlington-South Burlington city line. They replaced yield signs, which neighbors say were effective before Burlington officials decided to tinker with things.
“People who use that bridge all the time know that it’s a take-turns thing, to the point where sometimes I’ll wag my finger at people because they’re just bumper riding the one in front of them to come through without waiting their turn,” said Lynn Vera, who’s lived in Queen City Park for 40 years.
The bridge spans train tracks and was used mostly by residents of the lakeside Queen City Park neighborhood, visitors to Red Rocks Park, and employees at nearby businesses: Edlund, Burton Snowboards, Rhino Foods and the Green Mountain Transit bus depot. But work on the Champlain Parkway prompted city officials to close Pine Street where it connected with Queen City Park Road, forcing some motorists to take the bridge — about 1,200 extra vehicles per day.
The yield signs sparked some confusion, according to city engineers, who decided that stop signs would work better. Neighbors turned out at a Public Works Commission meeting last week to voice their displeasure, but members voted to approve the change, which went into effect on November 20.
Resident Tom Piper said the problems were apparent during the first rush-hour commute, when he estimated 40 cars were lined up waiting to cross the bridge.
“Now we have this insane situation that is more dangerous, more polluting, more time-consuming, with no benefit,” Piper said. “And [it] likely will cause new accidents and road rage.”
Chapin Spencer, the public works director, acknowledged in an email to Seven Days that “it can take a while for traffic to settle in once there has been a change.” He said city staff will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments if need be. That could include returning to yield signs once the Champlain Parkway fully opens.
Piper sure hopes so.
“To get this neighborhood to agree on what color the sky is, it’s kind of a miracle,” he said. “And everybody agreed that the yield signs worked just fine.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Stop and Oh, No”
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2 2025.
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