Remember - four-way stop

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
July 24, 2012

Traffic lights at Route 47 and Lake Avenue were out at 6:00AM, after a brief downpour in Woodstock. As I followed a car north on Route 47, the driver approached the intersection and never even slowed down. Fortunately, other cars remained stopped, as that driver blew through the intersection at 30MPH.

It was dark, and it was raining. A driver unfamiliar with Woodstock wouldn't even know there was a signalized intersection there. I had gone through about ten minutes earlier and noticed that all cars, including a northbound Woodstock Police car, were making full stops before entering the intersection.

The City of Woodstock needs to request IDOT to install folding stop signs in all four directions. These stop sign are kept folded in a closed position until needed; when the traffic lights go out, then an officer can quickly "open" the sign and provide the additional needed warning to drivers. This is especially important at dark intersections during inclement weather.

Coming soon (I hope) to a corner near you...