Posted at: 09/17/2012 9:03 PM
Updated at: 09/17/2012 10:14 PM
By: Dietrich Nissen

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Rochester City Council Heeds Mom’s Request To Add Stop Signs

(ABC 6 News) -- On Monday night the Rochester City Council agreed to add stop signs to an uncontrolled intersection after a young mom put in the request.

"I am sick of yelling," says 26-year-old, Nicole Martino. "It just makes me look like a crazy mom."

After a year of watching people speed past the corner home she rents with her son, Martino had had enough.

"It scares me because I feel like I can't relax out here with him," says Martino. "They can go up to like 30, 40 miles an a hour."

Since she doesn't own the yard, Martino couldn't add a fence. So to protect her 2-year old son, Dominick, she asked the city to put up stop signs.

"I just think it'd be safer that way," says Martino.

"People come through there awful fast sometimes," says Martino's corner neighbor, Larry Mauseth. He’s watched the cars zip by for 32 years and although he's never seen an accident, he's caught enough near-misses to support stop signs.

"It could potentially save somebody," says Mauseth.

The city listened to the two residents and agreed to put in stop signs along 5th Avenue Northwest. The problem is the fast traffic is moving along 6th Street Northwest.

"If you make people stop you get'em to- get a better view of traffic that's approaching," says Rochester traffic engineer, George Calebaugh. He says the intersection isn't all that busy but accidents have happened.

"Having three crashes in ten years is enough to say, yeah, there might be something that you can do," says Calebaugh.

"I'd like [Dominick] to be able to have a childhood being able to play outside without me worrying that he's going to get hit or something along those lines," says Martino. She was originally hoping to have a 4-way stop sign put up at the intersection, but says she's happy at least something was done.

The cost of installing the signs should run a few hundred dollars.