Patch Readers Sound Off on Stop Signs in Westwood

Westwood, NJ - If you’ve noticed an intersection in your neighborhood that could use a stop sign, you’re not alone.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that one-third of all intersection crashes in the United States occur at crossings controlled by stop signs. While they aren’t a perfect solution to dangerous intersections, studies have shown that installing all-way signs can reduce accidents by 40 to 60 percent.

When we asked Patch readers in the Westwood area where they wanted to see a stop sign, some asked for stoplights while others just requested that drivers stop at the signs that are already in place. That’s not too much to ask according to a report from the Federal Highway Administration that showed the simple, and cheap, addition of “Stop Ahead” wording on roadways reduced accidents at controlled intersections by 15 percent.

We realize that no one knows the roads in the Westwood area better than its residents. Here’s what Patch readers shared with us about their neighborhood’s intersections:

• "Anything on Claremont in Westwood to slow the cars on the way to school. Or 6th and Boulevard. The cars come around the bend so quickly. Because of the bend where Brickell becomes 6th, there's a blind spot. It's a block with a lot of kids!"
• "Colonial and Washington Ave. could use a light."
• "The cut through from Hillsdale to Westwood, Yesler/Hillside Ave. to McKinley and Lincoln Ave. Everyone speeds through the neighborhood to Lafayette trying to beat the light at corner of Washington and Lafayette. I haven't seen a car stop at any stop sign in that neighborhood for three years."
• "Corner of Prospect and Bogert could use a yield sign, at least."

Is there a dangerous intersection on your block that didn’t make the list? Share it with us on our Westwood-Hillsdale Patch Facebook page or in the comments below.