KIMBALL, Tenn. -- When the call comes in about a bad traffic accident at the intersection where cars enter and exit the Kimball Crossing shopping center, city officials won't be surprised.
When the facility's parking lot was repaved last year, the word "stop" was painted on the road in the right lane of the main intersection where drivers exit the shopping center, making it a three-way stop.
The sudden addition caused a great deal of confusion for drivers, officials said.
Kimball Mayor David Jackson said painting "stop" on the road does not make it a legal stop, and the city has done all it can do to alleviate the problem.
"We bought some reflective tape [to cover it] and the tape has come off," he said. "Actually, we are not really supposed to be down there doing anything, but according to [Kimball Police Chief Tommy Jordan], it is not a legal stop."
Alderman Johnny Sisk said several residents have contacted him about the problem.
"There are some drivers stopping and some running wide open through there," he said. "There's going to be a bad wreck."
Jackson said he has contacted Brixmor, the company that owns the shopping center, several times about the problem, but little has been done.
Someone tried to cover the painted word "with a can of spray paint," but rain washed the black paint away, Jackson said.
The sudden vanishing and reappearing of the word on the road has caused even more uncertainty for local drivers, officials said.
"There must be some kind of reflective paint where regular paint won't stick to it," Jackson said. "If it rains, [the black paint] comes right off. [Brixmor] is aware that it is not a legal stop."
Repeated efforts to contact the property owner were unsuccessful.
Kimball Attorney Billy Gouger said the town will not be liable for any accidents that might occur at the intersection because it is on private property.
Originally, Jackson said, Brixmor officials wanted to put a four-way stop at the intersection, which would stop traffic entering the facility from Highway 2, as well.
"I told them there's no way you're putting a four-way stop there," he said. "That would back traffic up to the main road, and it would create an even greater danger."
Jackson said he would try to contact Brixmor again.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.