Clark Avenue, the busy cut-through skirting North Carolina State University, is finally getting new stop signs after a deadly crash last November that killed an NC State professor. Raleigh leaders voted this week to turn three key intersections into all-way stops, a change residents and students have been demanding since the collision. City officials say crews will move quickly, with the goal of slowing drivers and making it less nerve-racking to walk to and from campus.
Where the signs will go and when
The council’s decision will create four-way stops at Clark Avenue’s intersections with Pogue, Horne and Chamberlain streets, and the signs are set to be installed within the next week, according to the News & Observer. City staff told the paper these stops are part of a short-term bundle of traffic controls planned along the corridor.
Crash and charges
On Nov. 11, 2025, NC State professor Natalia Duque-Wilckens was hit by a pickup that was turning left from Pogue Street onto Clark Avenue and later died at a hospital, WRAL reported. The station reported that 19-year-old Jack Thomas Etheridge has been charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and failure to yield; those charges remain pending as the case works its way through the court system.
Traffic data and the petition
City analysis found that between 9,000 and 10,000 vehicles a day travel Clark Avenue at these intersections, and there have been nine reported crashes at Clark and Pogue in the past three years, the News & Observer reported. Neighbors and supporters collected more than 1,200 signatures on a petition pressing Raleigh to make the corridor safer, and the council’s move arrives after that sustained local pressure.
Neighbors and prior traffic calming
Residents told WRAL they have watched drivers regularly blow past the posted 30 mph limit and have called for more lights, stop signs and speed bumps to protect pedestrians and students. According to WRAL, the city has already tried traffic-calming projects on other stretches of Clark that cut average speeds, and staff pointed to those results while weighing similar fixes near campus.
What comes next
For now, the new stop signs are a quick, low-cost attempt to reduce turning conflicts and dial back driver speeds while longer-term options stay under review. City officials and neighborhood advocates say they plan to keep an eye on how the intersections perform after the signs go in and will consider enforcement or additional changes if crashes and close calls continue.
