FRANKFORT, Ind. – The four-way flashing red light at the intersection of Maish Rd and Washington Avenue was permanently removed Wednesday afternoon after the Frankfort Police Department described a semi trailer had made contact with the hanging light on Monday causing the unit to fall to the ground. FPD reports this is the third time that lighting unit has been damaged.
The Frankfort Board of Works and Public Safety gave the approval Wednesday after consulting with Frankfort Street Superintendent Jason Forsythe. Forsythe says he is aware the decision made is not popular.
“And I know people, people were disappointed in the decision I made, but, it’s probably not the first decision I’ve ever made that people were disappointed in,” said Forsythe when reached for comment. “It was never made to put anyone at risk. I believe the safety is still very strong there with, with the four-way stop.”
That intersection will see upgraded four-way stop signs in the coming weeks as the city has invested $6,000 to purchase 4 new flashing stop signs like others on Maish at Washington Drive, Wilshire, and Haven.
There is still a chance the flashing stop signs at Haven and Maish could be moved to Washington Ave as there is a five-week lead time for delivery.
FPD reports the city averages 400 crashes a year “with near zero fatalities each year.”
The interview with Forsythe can be found below.
Jason Forsythe Explains Decision to Remove Four-Way Flashing Light
Clinton County Today:
Some people have asked about the decision-making that went on for taking that down and just like to maybe get your side and the city side of why that decision needed to be made.
Forsythe:
In the last year-and-a-half or so, we’ve had issues with that particular light, either being damaged by farm equipment, by semis, you know, by other acts unknown. We’ve had an accident there when, at one point in time where we had to obviously repair it.
But every time that occurs, we have to obviously get hold of City Light and Power to take care of that.
That’s not something my department team can take care of. We don’t have the equipment and I don’t like messing with electricity.
At the same point in time, it was just a becoming a headache every time we wanted to go down there to try to fix something and we continue to have to do it quite often.
So I brought that up [removing the red flashing lights] and in the last couple of days that it was hit again over the weekend, I believe by a piece of farm machinery with a with a hose rack on the top of it and it had to be looked at again and I thought, well, let’s look at what we want to do here.
Do we really want to continue to have that light there when there is already a four-way stop with, you know, four nice sized stop signs there at that location?
Back in ’17 and ’18 downtown Frankfort had stopped lights that are blinking red lights at Main and Clinton and Main and Washington.
And as we all know over the last year, for sure, Main and Clinton has taken more traffic than our city’s probably ever seen with no traffic accidents.
We haven’t had any traffic accidents at Main and Washington. I don’t know of any accidents at Maish and Washington Avenue.
And could you say it’s because of blinking light? Yeah, but I would lean more towards knowing that everyone knows that’s a four-way stop.
And, I sat there at that location for probably a good hour after I was told that it was taken down, I sat in the Encompass Credit Union lot and never once seen a near miss, a close call of any kind at that intersection.
So, we don’t have blinking lights at any other four-way stop in Frankfort.
And, I just felt like with all the problems that that light has been causing and really wasn’t aware of why it was there in the first place, I just felt like it was time to go ahead and take it down.
And, we have purchased, or ordered, four of the blinking stop signs that you see on Maish and Wilshire [and] down by the Middle School as well and at Maish and Haven. And at one recently we just posted at the post office, we ordered four of those to be placed there, or we are possibly in talks of moving the one from Maish and Haven and Maish and Wilshire down to the Washington Avenue and Maish Road intersection until these four new ones come in and then will replace those.
But those are $1,500 a piece. So it was a $6,000 purchase the city’s made to, to upgrade that intersection, but at the same point in time, you know, that I just felt like it was time to remove that light.
And, and I’ve heard from many people and on Party Line today, after speaking with Kevin Keith, a lot of people didn’t even realize that it was even a light there and so I think people pay attention to stop signs.
But every intersection that has a stop sign, there’s a chance of having an accident.
But I just thought it was time, rather than sending City Light and Power down there, you know, three to four times, at least in the last year-and-a-half to repair something [it] was best just to remove it.
It was a city owned light, like I said, I don’t know who put it there, why the decision was made to put it there, but we made a decision to go ahead and remove it.
I think it was Saturday night or Sunday afternoon when I got the call from the police department that had been hit again. So we thought, you know, we just needed to act on it and try to get it taken care of.
And I know people, people were disappointed in the decision I made, but, it’s probably not the first decision I’ve ever made that people were disappointed in. It was never made to put anyone at risk.
I believe the safety is still very strong there with, with the four-way stop. And, and like I said, we are taking action in trying to purchase some, some additional blinking stop signs to put there.
And those things, not only maybe a little safer than an all stop sign, but they also look nicer. So, you know, it’ll be nice to have those, those there when those arrive.
And like I said, there’s about a five-week lead time on those from that purchase is what I was told this afternoon.
I’ve asked them to rush that as much as they can to get those put in and we’ll just see how it goes from here on out.
But that was, that was the whole reasoning behind removing the blinking light there.
