Village proposes four-way stop at Third Street, South Street and Park Way

Public hearing set for Feb. 20 Warwick — If you walk around Stanley-Deming Park in the Village of Warwick, one thing you will notice is that there are lots of cars going by on South Street —and most of them are going pretty fast. That may end with a proposal to install a four-way stop at the South Street intersection with Third Street and Park Way. South Street is one of the many long, straight streets in the village that just invites drivers to speed it up a bit. From Main Street to Galloway Road/Route 17A, there are no stops along the way. About a year ago, the Village Board received a request from nearby residents to install stop signs at these intersections. Trustee Bill Iurato talked to some of the neighbors in the area and said they agreed something has to be done. “There is a lot of speeding there,” said Iurato. “Plus, the park is right there.” Stanley-Deming Park, while having a basketball court and handball wall for older kids and adults, is primarily a park for younger kids. “We should put them in to break up the speed,” he added. Park Way, which comes down alongside Stanley-Deming Park and ends at South Street, becomes very wide at the intersection. On one side is a sidewalk. Across the street is parking for the park. The street widens at the intersection, which causes drivers to form a right turn lane as well as a left turn lane. “I wish we could make the street (Park Way) more narrow and the intersection,” said Trustee Eileen Patterson. “Automatically, people make it a left or right hand turning lane.” Patterson said she would like to see curbing installed to narrow it. Crosswalks would also be painted to create a visible grid from each corner. Nearly two years ago, the village installed stop signs on Forester Avenue near Park Avenue School in both directions in an effort to slow the traffic. “This is such a family neighborhood,” added Patterson. “This would calm traffic.” The village will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m.