It’ll be good to stop for a while

It may not seem like it, but it is one of the more difficult aspects

of city planning and leadership: deciding when it’s worth it to add

stop signs or signals.

We can’t have a stop sign or signal at every corner. It’s not a

good way to plan a city. But last week, the City Council voted in

favor of safety when it approved a temporary stop sign at Park Avenue

and Terrace Drive.

Residents near the intersection have said that the area is too

dangerous. Most agree. Even Councilman Wayne Baglin who disagreed

with placing a stop sign there said it is a dangerous intersection,

though he ultimately said a stop sign would decrease the amount of

fear in drivers and therefore the amount of precaution they take.

That may be so, but if there’s that much danger that drivers have

trained themselves to be scared to death, well, perhaps there’s a

problem.

Unfortunately, the final straw is often a tragedy. Somebody dies

or is severely injured at an unsafe intersection. Then, the community

outcry and the emotions involved lead city leaders to make the

decision to spend the money.

The city installed a stop sign at Rosa Bonheur and Cliff Drive

after Elizabeth Stock was hit and killed there in 2000.

Of course, it really isn’t that simple. Not every corner can have

a stop sign because someone may be injured there some day, but a

particularly dangerous intersection, one with our newest and often

least diligent drivers -- the high school student -- passing through

daily, seems like a likely place for trouble and a good place to

spend the money.

The City Council voted Oct. 21 to put a temporary sign at the

intersection and good for them. The sign will stay up for six months,

and the city will determine if it should stay permanently.

The council listened and decided the people who have to travel

through that intersection on a regular basis needed some protection

provided by their local government. It gives us confidence that the

final decision on whether to have the sign there permanently will be

made in the best interest of the neighborhood.