All traffic-control devices including signs, signals and markings (pavement and/or curb) installed or used for the purpose of directing and controlling traffic within the town shall conform with the manual and specifications adopted by the state transportation commission as provided in V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, section 544.001. All signs, signals and markings erected or used by the town must conform to the manual and specifications adopted under V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, section 544.001. All existing traffic-control devices and those erected in the future by the town being consistent with the manual and specifications, state law and this section shall be official traffic-control devices.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
The driver of any vehicle, motor vehicle or animal shall obey the instructions of any official traffic-control device, sign, signal or marking applicable thereto placed in accordance with this article, the manual and any ordinance directing that such traffic-control device, sign or signal shall be installed or erected unless otherwise directed by a police officer, subject to the exceptions granted the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle permitted by this article.
(Ordinance 578, sec. II, adopted 6/29/76; 1964 Code, sec. 27-88)
(a) 
The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, as the term “authorized emergency vehicle” is defined by state law, when responding to an emergency call or when in the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, or when responding to but not upon returning from a fire alarm, may exercise the privileges set forth in this section, but subject to the conditions herein stated.
(b) 
The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle may:
(1) 
Park or stand, irrespective of the provisions of this chapter or any ordinance;
(2) 
Proceed past a red or stop signal or stop sign, but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation;
(3) 
Exceed the prima facie speed limits so long as he does not endanger life or property;
(4) 
Disregard regulations governing direction of movement or turning in specified directions.
(c) 
The exemptions herein granted to an authorized emergency vehicle shall apply only when the driver of any said vehicle in motion sounds audible signal by bell, siren, or exhaust whistle as may be reasonably necessary, and when the vehicle is equipped with at least one lighted lamp displaying a red light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred feet to the front of such vehicle, except that an authorized emergency vehicle operated as a police vehicle need not be equipped with or display a red light visible from in front of the vehicle.
(d) 
The foregoing provisions shall not relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor shall such provision protect the driver from the consequences of his reckless disregard for the safety of others.
(Ordinance 578, sec. III, adopted 6/29/76; 1964 Code, sec. 27-89)
(a) 
No person shall place, maintain, or display upon or in view of any highway, street or alley any unauthorized sign, signal, marking, or device which purports to be or is an imitation of or resembles an official traffic-control device or railroad sign or signal or which attempts to direct the movement of traffic, or which hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any official control device or any railroad sign or signal.
(b) 
No person shall place or maintain nor shall any public authority permit upon any highway, street or alley any traffic sign or signal bearing thereon any commercial advertising.
(c) 
This section shall not be deemed to prohibit the erection upon private property adjacent to highways, streets, or alleys of signs giving useful directional information and of a type that cannot be mistaken for official signs.
(d) 
Every such prohibited sign, signal or marking is hereby declared to be a public nuisance, and the chief of police is hereby empowered to remove the same or cause it to be removed without notice.
(Ordinance 578, sec. IV, adopted 6/29/76)
No person shall without lawful authority attempt to or in fact alter, deface, injure, knock down or remove any official traffic-control device, sign or signal or any railroad sign or signal or any inscription, shield, or insignia thereon, or any part thereof.
(Ordinance 578, sec. V, adopted 6/29/76)
(a) 
The city council shall by ordinance direct that the chief of police shall have the duty of erecting or installing upon, over, along, or beside any highway, street or alley signs, signals and markings, or causing the same to be erected, installed or placed, in accordance with this chapter and consistent with the manual. Said traffic-control devices shall be installed immediately, or as soon as such specific device, sign or signal can be procured.
(b) 
Whenever the chief of police has erected and installed any official traffic-control device, signal or sign at any location in the city, or has caused the same to be done under his direction in obedience to this chapter and the manual, [he] shall thereafter file a report with the city secretary in writing and signed officially by the chief of police, stating the type of traffic-control device, sign or signal, and when and where the same was erected and installed. The city secretary shall file and maintain such report of the chief of police among the official papers of the office of the city secretary.
(Ordinance 578, sec. VI, adopted 6/29/76)
It being unlawful for any person other than the chief of police, acting pursuant to an ordinance of the city, to install or cause to be installed any signal, sign or device purporting to direct the use of the streets or the activities on those streets of pedestrians, vehicles, motor vehicles, or animals, proof, in any prosecution for a violation of this chapter or any traffic ordinance of the city, that any traffic-control device, sign, signal or marking was actually in place on any street shall constitute prima facie evidence that the same was installed by the chief of police pursuant to the authority of this chapter and of the ordinance directing the installation of such device, signal or marking.
(Ordinance 578, sec. VII, adopted 6/29/76)
No provision of this chapter for which signs are required shall be enforced against an alleged violator if, at the time and place of the alleged violation, an official sign is not in proper position and sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person. Whenever a particular section does not state that signs are required, such section shall be effective even though no signs are erected or in place.
(1964 Code, sec. 27-91)
The chief of police, as authorized by the city council from time to time, shall designate intersections at which traffic shall be controlled by electric traffic-control signals or lights and shall cause such signals or lights to be installed and maintained at such intersections. The fact that an intersection has been so designated, as indicated by the installation of such lights or signals, shall be prima facie evidence that the designation was authorized by the city council.
(1964 Code, sec. 27-92)
All traffic-control signs, signals, devices, and markings placed or erected prior to the adoption of this code by the police department and in use for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic are hereby affirmed, ratified, and declared to be official traffic-control devices, provided such traffic-control devices are not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter or state law.
(1964 Code, sec. 27-97)