The term for a street that often has stop signs on side streets and serves residential neighborhoods is:

The term that accurately describes a street often equipped with stop signs on side streets while serving residential neighborhoods is a local street. Local streets are designed to provide access to residential properties and are typically characterized by lower traffic volumes and speeds compared to other street types. They prioritize the safe movement of residents and local traffic rather than serving as major thoroughfares.

In contrast, a collector street is intended to gather and distribute traffic between local streets and higher-capacity arterial streets. Collector streets may still navigate through residential areas, but they accommodate more traffic and often do not have the same stop sign configurations as local streets. Other options such as secondary arterial streets serve broader regional traffic and are designed for more significant travel flow, while a branch street is not a commonly recognized classification in urban planning. Understanding these distinctions clarifies why the definition aligns more accurately with the characteristics of a local street in the context provided.