The intersection of Elm and Oak Streets is about to get a fourth stop sign, after a unanimous vote by Beacon’s City Council this week (9/3/2019), completing this intersection as a four-way stop. Located in a neighborhood featuring several one-way streets and hedges that swell into the sidewalk, peeking around the corner to see who is coming or zooming through can be difficult.

Several intersections in this area of town, which generally stretches from behind Rite Aid to Max’s on Main, do not have four-way stops. Knowing whether you need to come to a complete stop is not obvious, as sometimes there is no stop sign where you think there would be one, causing the driver to slow down, which might cause the opposite driver at the actual stop sign to consider going. It’s just all confusing.

Note to selves: Let this stop sign installation be an inspiration to moving forward with your dreams of encouraging improvements on streets around you. If you wish something were so, go on down to a City Council meeting and ask for it - with logic informing you and in a gentle tone (some folks can be quite feisty, but kindness helps… You also might start by emailing your council representative). For instance, there are vanishing sidewalks and crosswalks to nowhere at Verplanck and Willow Street, making crossing safely at any of the four corners unsafe, and actually impossible if you are rolling in a wheelchair or pushing a stroller.

Electric wheelchair traffic is common in Beacon. Broken or non-existent sidewalks are a barrier to travel, leaving lots of pedestrians and electric rollers to travel in the street.