Stop sign removal passes committee, set for full council vote

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City Councilor Sue Finkam has been working hard to try to remove a stop sign at 126th Street and Auman Drive that she feels is not needed and slows traffic unnecessary.

Other councilors, such as Eric Seidensticker who represents the area, have fought to keep the sign in place because they feel it helps protect pedestrians from speeding motorists.

An ordinance was introduced in November but it was tabled in December because some felt that more time was needed to study the issue from an engineering standpoint. Finkam brought more data to the City Council’s Utilities, Transportation and Public Safety Committee and it was given a 2-1 favorable recommendation and sent back to the full council for a vote.

Finkam and Ron Carter voted for the bill and Luci Snyder voted against.

“I honestly don’t know if it will pass or not,” Finkam said. “I laid out all of the research and the rationale. We got additional data and the recommendation continues to be to remove the stop sign. I hope those that are considering this will look at the data and make a rational decision. The more I look into this, the more I’m convinced that this is the right thing to do.”

Snyder said she voted against removing the stop sign because more should be done. She wants to get a commitment to fix it permanently. She said if the stop sign is removed, then there needs to something else done in the future to fix the traffic in the area.

“I agree that traffic might flow better if they took it out,” she said. “However nobody from the neighborhoods was present to speak to this issue. And 126th Street has become a ‘gateway street’ where it’s a lot busier than it used to be. The street practically hasn’t changed in 40 years and we should do a comprehensive fix.”

Carter disagrees with Snyder saying that it’s not wise to spend taxpayer money on a roundabout or a traffic light – which he feels isn’t needed – because there are plenty of better places to install such traffic devices.

Seidensticker said he agrees that removing the stop sign is just a “band-aid.” He said a more comprehensive fix – a way to slow traffic – is needed because he believes in pedestrian safety in the area.

Furthermore, Seidensticker said this issue is only people proposed because of politics.

“It’s politics,” he said. “They are trying to find something they can make a big deal about because they don’t have anything else to say about me. They aren’t considering human safety in this at all.”

Finkam has strongly opposed characterizing her actions as “political.” She notes that she introduced the idea back in November – months before election filing – but it was held by others. She said she just wants others to look at rational facts in this case.


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