HUNTINGTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – In partnership with Cabell County Schools to enhance safety, the City of Huntington will install a four-way traffic stop Aug. 8 at the intersection of Saltwell Road and Sumner Avenue, which is located at the entrance to the Explorer Academy.
The traffic change precedes the beginning of the 2023-24 school year and comes after a traffic study conducted April 6-20 on Saltwell Road that revealed 66 percent of motorists were traveling 1-10 mph above the 25 mph speed limit, while 16 percent were traveling more than 10 mph above the speed limit.
In addition to the results of the traffic study, City of Huntington Traffic Safety Director Beau Evans said the change is needed because Saltwell Road is a narrow street with narrow sidewalks. Motorists traveling on Saltwell Road toward Washington Boulevard also drive through a blind ‘S’ curve just before they enter the school zone.
‘While stop signs are not traditionally used as a measure for slowing speeders, our assessment is they will benefit public safety and reduce speeding on Saltwell Road given all of the conditions on this road,’ Evans said. ‘Future speed studies will be conducted after the four-way stop is put in place to determine the impact.’
Enhanced signage for a school zone speed limit of 15 mph on Saltwell Road and near the exit of the Explorer Academy on Ferguson Road also will be implemented Aug. 8, Evans said.
The school zone speed limit enforcement times are 7:15- 8 a.m. and 2:15-3 p.m. when school is in session. The Huntington Police Department also has acquired grant funding to enforce the speed limit within the school zone.
New crosswalks going across the roadways entering and exiting the school also will be added, Evans said.
