A Well Traveled Berkshire Area Intersection Is In Need of A Stop

If you noticed, traffic has escalated in The Great Barrington area as more vehicles are circulating in our main and side roads. During the day, an influx of cars are at a standstill crossing the bridge that brings you into Main Street and sometimes this situation extends to the intersection of routes 7 and 23 which could be frustrating at times. The end result: Your trip down town towards Main Street is reminiscent to the bottle neck of traffic that is experienced in New York City and Boston.

Which leads me to the next phase of this article: Cars are finding short cuts in arriving to their impending destinations and one of the thoroughfares highly utilized is East Street just parallel to the bridge. The plot thickens as you are ready to turn right or left at Bridge Street as a yield sign awaits you, but statistics show this intersection is dangerous in nature as a blind spot in both directions prevents you from seeing any other cars approaching the vicinity.

I've had a few close calls coming and going through this area, so what is the ultimate solution? The town NEEDS to install a STOP SIGN and that suggestion should be implemented to prevent any future mishaps from occurring. Believe me, this is a prudent idea as drivers can slow down and see for themselves if other vehicles are hampering their view. This should definitely be on the agenda in an upcoming Select Board meeting (which is still presented on a virtual basis due to the recent COVID health related issues that continue to plague our local area).

As members of the community, we should strive to make this idea a reality for everyone's well being and to assure safety on our local roadways. This would give all of us peace of mind and avoid any personal injury on the horizon. An even simpler solution when driving: SLOW DOWN and obey ALL posted speed limits as you can avoid paying a fine towards a moving violation which also could lighten up your wallet in the long run.

If you agree with me, please submit your thoughts and ideas by logging on to The Town of Great Barrington's web site by going here. Let's not forget, we have a voice to help better our immediate surroundings, so join in and make that suggestion become reality. We'll keep you posted on the latest developments.

."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":33558784,"11":4,"15":"Arial","28":1}">