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 city 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 city being consistent with the manual and specifications, state law and this section shall be official traffic-control devices.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
The city council shall by ordinance direct that the manager of utilities shall have the duty of erecting or installing, upon, over, along, or beside any highway, street, or alley, signs and markings, or causing the same to be erected, installed, or placed, in accordance with this article and consistent with the manual. Said traffic-control devices shall be installed immediately, or as soon as such specific device can be procured.
(b) 
Whenever the manager of utilities has erected and installed any official traffic-control device at any location in the city, or has caused the same to be done under his direction, in obedience to this article and the manual, he shall file a report with the city secretary in writing, signed officially by the superintendent, stating the type of traffic-control device and when and where the same was erected and installed. The city secretary shall file and maintain such report among the official papers of the office of the city secretary.
(1997 Code, sec. 70.21)
(a) 
The driver of any vehicle or animal shall obey the instructions of any official traffic-control device applicable thereto placed in accordance with this article, unless otherwise directed by a police officer, subject to the exceptions granted the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle in this article.
(b) 
It being unlawful for any person other than the manager of utilities, 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, or animals, proof, in any prosecution for a violation of this article or any other traffic ordinance of the city, that any traffic-control device was actually in place on any street shall constitute prima facie evidence that the same was installed by the manager of utilities pursuant to the authority of this article and of the ordinance directing the installation of such device.
(1997 Code, sec. 70.22)
(a) 
The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, 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.
(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 maximum 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 such vehicle is making use of audible and visual signals meeting the requirements of Tex. Transp. Code section 547.702, 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. The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle that is used for law enforcement purposes may operate without using the emergency warning devices required by this subsection only when the driver is responding to an emergency call or when he or she is in pursuit of a suspected violator of the law and he or she has probable cause to believe that:
(1) 
Knowledge of his or her presence will cause the subject to destroy or lose evidence of a suspected felony;
(2) 
Knowledge of his or her presence will cause the suspect to cease a suspected continuing felony before the driver has acquired sufficient evidence to establish grounds for arrest;
(3) 
Knowledge of his or her presence will cause the suspect to evade apprehension or identification of the suspect or his or her vehicle; or
(4) 
Traffic conditions on a multi-laned roadway are such that movements of motorists in response to the emergency warning devices may increase the potential for a collision or may unreasonably extend the duration of the pursuit.
(d) 
The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle that is used for law enforcement purposes may not operate without using the emergency warning devices as provided above unless he or she has first notified a designated office of his or her intention to operate without such devices. The designated office to which such notification is made shall keep an accurate record of the exact time notification is received.
(e) 
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 provisions protect the driver from the consequences of his reckless disregard for the safety of others.
(1997 Code, sec. 70.23)
(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 traffic-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.
(1997 Code, sec. 70.24)
No person shall without lawful authority attempt to or in fact alter, deface, injure, knock down, or remove any official traffic-control device or any railroad sign or signal or any inscription, shield, or insignia thereon, or any other part thereof.
(1997 Code, sec. 70.25)
There may be installed, at such points on streets and avenues in the city as may be directed by the city council, appropriate signs notifying drivers of vehicles to come to a full stop. Such signs, devices, or marks are to bear the word “stop” and shall have the specifications required by the state Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Whenever any such sign has been erected, it shall be unlawful for the driver or operator of any vehicle to fail to stop in obedience thereto. The operator of any vehicle who has come to a full stop as required above shall be subject to the right-of-way prescribed by law.
(1997 Code, sec. 70.26)