Red Light Comes to Green Bag Road: Traffic Signal Will Replace 4-Way Stop at Kingwood Pike

By Gary Gray, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Mar. 24–Beginning June 30, the “honor system” is out and traffic signals are in at the intersection of Green Bag Road and Dorsey Avenue/Kingwood Pike.

The state’s Division of Highways is accepting bids to install traffic signals at the notably frenzied four-way stop just outside Morgantown city limits. “The state will hire a private contractor to put in a normal fourway ‘greeting signal,’ ” said John Stewart, DOH signal designer. “The signals will also have video cameras installed to sense vehicles when they reach a certain point on the road. When that happens, it activates the light. Each light has a minimum and maximum time that it remains activated.” Stewart said the DOH expects to award the bid by April 4 and complete the project by June 30. Carl Sigley, manager of Wonder Hostess Bakery Outlet, said the signals will make the situation worse, not better. The outlet sits on the northeast corner of the intersection, and it is the only business at the site. “My feeling is, why fix something that’s not broken,” he said. “I think people will try to beat the lights once they go up. They’ll be rushing to get through. And as a business on this corner, we’ll have more people trying to cut through our parking lot.” Dorothy Shumiloff, a customer shopping inside the outlet, offered another point of view. “I think putting up the signals will help,” said Shumiloff, who travels through the intersection about four to five times a week. “I almost had someone hit me. It was my turn, and the other car was supposed to wait. It didn’t. Signals will make the intersection a lot safer.” There were six motor vehicle accidents at the intersection from Sept. 1, 2004, to Sept. 1, 2005, according to Ron Kyle, Mon County Office of Emergency Services director. The junction has an average daily traffic flow of about 14,000 vehicles. Two of those accidents involved injuries; none resulted in fatalities. Vehicles converge on the spot from downtown on Dorsey Avenue, from Sabraton and Don Knotts Boulevard on Green Bag Road, and Preston County on Kingwood Pike. For the most part, motorists have taken their turns passing through the four-way stop for years. But that will come to an end this spring. “I’ve been a commissioner since 1999, and I’ve been pushing for it ever since,” said Bob Bell Mon County Commission president. “It’s a long time coming. I think you’ll see that those signals will be very welcome at that intersection.”

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

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