Controversial Stop Sign Comes Down

UPDATE: As of Tuesday, May 8, the stop sign had been removed, according to an alert Hellertown Patch reader.

A controversial stop sign that was installed on a trial basis at a redesigned borough intersection will be taken down, Hellertown Borough Council decided May 7.

The decision to remove the stop sign on Durham Street at Delaware Avenue was made after borough engineer Bryan Smith, of Barry Isett Associates, recommended that a tree near the sign be removed in order to provide stopped motorists with better visibility.

Council president Phil Weber then recommended that the sign be removed, rather than the tree.

"I have not heard one person say anything positive about that stop sign," he remarked.

Councilwoman Gail Nolf agreed.

"I was never in favor of (the stop sign) to begin with," she said.

The decision to install the stop sign was made following a recommendation by Police Chief Robert Shupp, who earlier this year identified the complex confluence of Delaware, Durham and Penn Street as

It has also been referred to as

, with some motorists questioning its functionality.

On May 7, he said he accepted council's decision to remove the sign, even though it likely contradicts state recommendations for an intersection with similar lines of sight.

"(The intersection) has been like that for how many years," he acknowledged.

Other recommendations made by Shupp, including striping on Durham Street that has realigned the intersection of Durham and Penn, will remain in place.

"I do like the other improvements," councilman Tom Rieger said, referring to the striping and the bright yellow paint that has been applied to curbs in the area.