Designed to slow people down

Three Ironton intersections will be getting stop signs because of people driving way too fast.

Beginning April 19, there will be stop signs at the intersections of Fifth and Vesuvius streets, Fifth and Monroe streets and Sixth and Vine streets.

Mayor Katrina Keith said she received numerous complaints about cars speeding through their neighborhoods, so she sent someone to check out the situation.

“At Fifth and Vesuvius, we had a number of people complaining that drivers were speeding down that road and risking the lives of the children in that community,” she said, adding she asked her staff if it would be a benefit to put a stop sign at the intersection. “They came back and said there are a lot of children down there, especially since there is a Little League field, so it only makes sense.”

Keith said they did similar assessments at the other two locations.

“These are spots where people pick up a lot of speed and they zoom down through there. And now that we have these large vehicles, big SUVs, and you can’t see around them to see what’s coming down the street,” she said. “And when these drivers are getting up to 45 or 50 mph, you run the risk of getting hit. So, to slow people down, we thought we would put stop signs in these three locations.”

The speed limit in residential neighborhoods is 25 or 35 mph depending on the area.

“I definitely don’t have enough police officers to sit on every road and write tickets,” Keith said. “So that’s why we placed the stop signs. It’s an effort to slow down traffic and keep our children safe.”

For right now, those three spots are the only places getting stop signs.

“But we will review, it will always be on a case by case basis,” Keith said.