HARTLY, DE- Efforts to improve road safety in Hartly have led to a new traffic change. A four-way stop was recently installed at the intersection of Pearsons Corner Road and West Denneys Road following years of accidents and concerns from the community.
For Quintin Lapp, principal of Central Christian School, West Denneys Road is a daily concern.
"Traffic going past here is just crazy. They fly through it, and there's been a lot of accidents."
He worries not only for himself but also for the students who rely on this road to travel to and from school.
"I think about the high schoolers, the teenage drivers we have leaving school, and their safety is a big concern."
Carolina Hill, who lives near the intersection, shares similar concerns.
For her, the dangers of Pearsons Corner Road hit close to home.
"It's a pretty dangerous intersection, for sure. My sister-in-law got into an accident here, and we live right nearby. So hopefully, this deters crazy drivers."
According to the Delaware Department of Transportation, that crash was one of 29 reported at the intersection in the past seven years.
In response, DelDOT installed a four-way stop at Pearsons Corner Road and West Denneys Road last week as part of its High-Risk Rural Roads Program.
C.R. McLeod, with DelDOT, says the new traffic pattern is designed to slow down drivers and improve safety for both pedestrians and motorists.
"This was one that rose to the top of the list for an intersection that we deemed necessary to improve. The goal is to make it safer and lower those speeds we're seeing on this local road."
While the four-way stop is an immediate solution, McLeod says DelDOT will continue to monitor its impact.
"The all-way stop is the first method we'll use. We'll continue to observe and see if we're seeing fewer crashes or reduced speed in the area as well."
If the four-way stop doesn’t prove effective, DelDOT officials say they may consider installing a roundabout in the future, though no timeline has been set for that decision.