Neighbors speak out about four-way stop at intersection
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on March 5, 2008 1:45 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Kimberly Jones remembers the day a stop sign outside her home saved a life.
It was at the intersection of College and Martin streets.
"Right after the stop sign was put in place, I actually saw a 10-year-old child's life spared," she said. "They had wandered out into the middle of the road unsupervised."
So when a group of residents submitted a petition to have the four-way stop removed, she was surprised -- and adamantly against the proposal.
"It's an inconvenience, I'll give you that," she said at Monday's Town Board meeting. "But it has already saved lives. We're used to seeing people flying down that road."
In fact, excessive speeding and reckless driving in the area prompted the creation of the stop more than a year ago.
But Town Manager Charles Brown said he has received a petition that calls the need for it into question.
"We have about 50 people who don't think it belongs, and the same number who think we need it," he said.
The board did not vote on the issue Monday.
Mount Olive Mayor Ray McDonald said he would rather see the residents work out what he sees as a neighborhood issue.
"This is not an individual thing," he said. "This is a community issue."
So instead of taking action, he and other members of the board have sent the issue to the Police Department for investigation.
And once they speak with both those for and against the stop and take note of traffic patterns along Martin and College streets, they will come back to the board with a recommendation.
"That's what we call working together," McDonald said.