NEWSTEAD, N.Y. – Many neighbors were very pleased when new traffic lights were installed at a dangerous intersection in Newstead, but there’s a problem. It has been weeks since the lights went up, and they are still not working.
We've been working to get answers about this since last week when a viewer reached out to 2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik on Facebook. The viewer was concerned that the newly installed, but not yet working lights, could be dangerous.
The lights are at the intersection of Main and North Millgrove and Barnum.
Larry Staszak told 2 On Your Side he hopes nobody gets killed or injured before the lights are operational. He said he couldn't believe some people were actually stopping on Main Street because they thought the lights were out, and they were treating it like a four-way stop causing others to jam on their brakes.
Tuesday, we met up with Larry's son-in-law, Nicholas West, who is happy the lights are up, but is worried about safety.
"You can see they're covered, and I think people get confused when they come down the intersection that's not working, or lights that aren't on, and people kind of stop and do a four way," says West. "Just coming here for ice cream, you pretty much every night, we come here which is twice a week with the kids, we'll hear some screeching of tires," says Nicholas West.
2 On Your Side spoke with an employee of the Town of Newstead Highway Department last week and was told the lights will be working soon. We were also told by the Newstead Highway Department that the lights are not controlled by Newstead or Akron. The NYS DOT is in charge of the lights.
According to the DOT, the lights will begin flashing next Monday, September 10th. One week later, September 17th, the lights will become fully functional.