New Stop Sign Coming To Spicebush Lane

The city will put up a new stop sign at Spicebush Lane and Nightshade lane to deter speeding.

But is the stop sign even needed? City council members disagree.

Residents on Spicebush Lane have said that their neighborhood is a popular cut-thru for drivers moving between SOM Center and Liberty roads. They say that speeding is a problem, and came to asking for help.

But the city's experts -- Police Chief Chris Viland and Traffic Engineer Kevin Westbrooks -- both said a stop sign isn't needed there. The police even conducted speed checks there, and found only a handful of about 5,000 cars were going fast enough to be ticketed.

But Vice Mayor Ed Kraus, who has pushed for the stop sign, said that sometimes the experts that need to be consulted are the ones who live in the neighborhood.

"To me, the stop sign issue is all about safety," Kraus said. "All throughout our community, we have for many years strategically placed stop signs at various locations. We don’t want to leave residential areas as cut-thrus without stop signs."

But other council members, including Bill Russo and Bill Mooney, disagree. They believe the decision to put a stop sign on Spicebush without evidence to show that it's need sets a bad precedent.

"Anytime a resident comes forward and uses the word safety, they are going to get a new stop sign," Mooney said. "I don’t know how we can use the safety argument when there’s no evidence of a safety issue here."

The stop sign is coming regardless. Council voted 4-3 at this week's council meeting to install the stop sign. Russo, Mooney and Councilwoman Nancy Meany voted against it.

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