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Our View: Lots of coal for woman who pushed child

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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; In Frank Monda&#8217;s eyes, four stops signs should do what two haven&#8217;t been able to at the intersection next to his house &#8212; get people to slow down.</p><p>Soon, two temporary signs will be posted on a section of South Franklin Street that Monda said motorists treat like a speedway.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre city council this week approved adding the signs to make the intersection of South Franklin, South River and Garfield streets a four-way stop. The signs will go up on a 90-day trial basis.</p><p>&#8220;It was always a bad corner,&#8221; Monda said Friday.</p><p>Since 2006, he&#8217;s lived in the red brick house on the corner of South Franklin and South River streets and his fight to make the intersection safer has lasted nearly as long.</p><p>Monda, 60, a retired teacher, said a vehicle involved in a crash jumped the curb and damaged the stone wall of the steps leading to his front door. A school bus stops twice a day during the school year picking up and dropping off between 20 and 25 students from the South Wilkes-Barre neighborhood, he added.</p><p>There are stop signs on the connecting streets, but none on South Franklin between the four-block stretch from Academy to Wood streets. Police have a name for it, Monda said. &#8220;They call Franklin Street the Franklin Thoroughfare.&#8221;</p><p>Twice, the city Traffic Committee denied his request for the added signs. He collected 300 signatures on a petition presented to the committee in 2009 and made the mistake of stating that he wanted to stop motorists from speeding.</p><p>The committee informed him PennDOT will not put up stop signs to control speeding, Monda said. &#8220;I was baffled,&#8221; he recalled.</p><p>This year, he went before committee members again and was able to get them to come to the intersection a few weeks ago to see for themselves. But still no signs.</p><p>Monda was miffed. Other streets that aren&#8217;t as busy have four-way stop signs, he said. When asked how to appeal the latest denial, he said he was told to go to city council.</p><p>Monda stated his case at the Nov. 9 meeting.</p><p>&#8220;I live there. I know what that corner is like,&#8221; he told council.</p><p>The committee visited one morning when it was not busy, Monda said. A few members of the committee came back in the afternoon and noted motorists drove fast through the intersection. &#8220;It&#8217;s not about speeding. It&#8217;s about people being cautious,&#8221; Monda pleaded. He worried that a kid riding a bike or running after a ball would be struck by a motorist.</p><p>&#8220;I just think a four-way stop sign would make things better,&#8221; he explained.</p><p>Councilman Mike Belusko, who represents the district that includes Monda&#8217;s neighborhood, agreed.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very familiar and it is exactly like he says,&#8221; Belusko said.</p><p>The side streets of South River and Garfield are staggered and don&#8217;t face each other, causing some confusion for motorists on who should turn first, Belusko said. On top of that, it&#8217;s difficult for motorists pulling out of the side streets to see oncoming traffic on South Franklin, he noted.</p><p>Council chairwoman Beth Gilbert told Monda that when it comes to neighborhood issues, &#8220;I go by the people who live there.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;When I heard that, I said, &#8216;Oh my God, it&#8217;s a win,&#8217;&#8221; said Monda.</p><p>A resolution calling for the stop signs at the intersection was put on council&#8217;s agenda for its Nov. 22 meeting and passed without any opposition.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Resident Frank Monda spoke and this week Wilkes-Barre city council finally listened, giving the go-ahead to put up additional stop signs at the intersection of South River, South Franklin and Garfield streets. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_F-Monda-stop-signs.jpg</photo0><caption0>Resident Frank Monda spoke and this week Wilkes-Barre city council finally listened, giving the go-ahead to put up additional stop signs at the intersection of South River, South Franklin and Garfield streets. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Four-way stop a go on South Franklin Street after Wilkes-Barre man’s push