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Residents split on stop signs
By Paul Crossman
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
It seems that no matter how the intersection of Joslen Boulevard and Harry Howard Avenue has been set up, it has always had it’s proponents and dissidents, and Wednesday’s meeting of the Greenport Town Board proved that the recently erected four-way stop is no different.
“[After we put the stop signs up] we got a lot of compliments, and a few com way stop.
Community members from Joslen Boulevard and the surrounding areas voiced their opinions both for and against the newly re-done intersection, both because it made the road safer for travelers, and, in some cases, because it didn’t make the road safe enough.
“I’d like to commend the board for putting the stop signs up,” said Greenport resident Irwin Diamond, who lives on the road. “I think it’s the greatest thing they’ve ever done.”
But Joe Kobilca, another town resident who also lives on the road, vehemently disagreed, believing that if the town was going to go through the trouble of installing the stop signs, they should have gone one step further.
“People are going right through [the stop signs] anyway,” he told the Register-Star. “If they want to slow the traffic down, they need traffic lights.”
Diamond did agree that though he thought the stop signs really were helping, that a light would probably be the optimal solution for the intersection by Hudson High School.
The Board though, maintained that slowing traffic down was not what the stop signs were intended to do in the first place- they were meant only to make the intersection safer and run smoother.
This is good, as according to Gaylord, the town cannot install stop-signs for the purpose of slowing down traffic.
Diamond agreed that the purpose of the signs wasn’t to slow down speeders, but differed from the towns opinion in saying that he believed they were meant to discourage people from using Joslen as an alternative to the ever-busy Route 9.
A third resident, Edward Nabozny, also voiced his opinion that while the new stop signs were a start, more enforcement was needed for the intersection to be truly effective.
“I think you need to start issuing tickets there,” he told the board. “Right now people are still going through it without stopping. It is an improvement though.”
Greenport Police Chief Kevin Marchetto says they have kept officers nearby in an effort to make sure the new intersection is working out okay, and that he plans to continue patrolling the area.
Regardless of this though, residents like Kobilca remain unconvinced that the new intersection will be any more effective than the old set up.
“I don’t really know where it serves any purpose,” he said. “I think it’s more confused now than it was before.”
Town Supervisor John Rutkey told the crowd that for the most part he believed the new intersection to be working out fine, but he did voice some concern about the stop sign that was installed by Cedar Parkway, saying that he didn’t see why it was necessary, and that it may cause more accidents then it would prevent.
“There are close calls every day. It’s constant turmoil,” Gaylord said previously, speaking of intersection before the stop signs were installed. “It’s such a big intersection, nobody knows who’s got the right of way.”
Gaylord also said that the adjustments are on a trial basis, and the board agreed, saying that although the signs are, as of now, a permanent addition to the town, they have the ability to change them if they don’t seem to be working out.
“[After we put the stop signs up] we got a lot of compliments, and a few com way stop.
Community members from Joslen Boulevard and the surrounding areas voiced their opinions both for and against the newly re-done intersection, both because it made the road safer for travelers, and, in some cases, because it didn’t make the road safe enough.
“I’d like to commend the board for putting the stop signs up,” said Greenport resident Irwin Diamond, who lives on the road. “I think it’s the greatest thing they’ve ever done.”
But Joe Kobilca, another town resident who also lives on the road, vehemently disagreed, believing that if the town was going to go through the trouble of installing the stop signs, they should have gone one step further.
“People are going right through [the stop signs] anyway,” he told the Register-Star. “If they want to slow the traffic down, they need traffic lights.”
Diamond did agree that though he thought the stop signs really were helping, that a light would probably be the optimal solution for the intersection by Hudson High School.
The Board though, maintained that slowing traffic down was not what the stop signs were intended to do in the first place- they were meant only to make the intersection safer and run smoother.
This is good, as according to Gaylord, the town cannot install stop-signs for the purpose of slowing down traffic.
Diamond agreed that the purpose of the signs wasn’t to slow down speeders, but differed from the towns opinion in saying that he believed they were meant to discourage people from using Joslen as an alternative to the ever-busy Route 9.
A third resident, Edward Nabozny, also voiced his opinion that while the new stop signs were a start, more enforcement was needed for the intersection to be truly effective.
“I think you need to start issuing tickets there,” he told the board. “Right now people are still going through it without stopping. It is an improvement though.”
Greenport Police Chief Kevin Marchetto says they have kept officers nearby in an effort to make sure the new intersection is working out okay, and that he plans to continue patrolling the area.
Regardless of this though, residents like Kobilca remain unconvinced that the new intersection will be any more effective than the old set up.
“I don’t really know where it serves any purpose,” he said. “I think it’s more confused now than it was before.”
Town Supervisor John Rutkey told the crowd that for the most part he believed the new intersection to be working out fine, but he did voice some concern about the stop sign that was installed by Cedar Parkway, saying that he didn’t see why it was necessary, and that it may cause more accidents then it would prevent.
“There are close calls every day. It’s constant turmoil,” Gaylord said previously, speaking of intersection before the stop signs were installed. “It’s such a big intersection, nobody knows who’s got the right of way.”
Gaylord also said that the adjustments are on a trial basis, and the board agreed, saying that although the signs are, as of now, a permanent addition to the town, they have the ability to change them if they don’t seem to be working out.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of registerstar.com.
kat2820 wrote on Sep 3, 2009 3:49 PM:
" I believe that for those who live closest to that intersection a light would be the better solution, however I live in and drive all over Hudson and no one seems to know how to navigate a four way stop such as those all over Hudson, it seems to me everyone needs to slow down and go back to driver's Ed. "
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hud12534 wrote on Sep 3, 2009 3:11 AM: