After discussion and debate by both the Tama County Board of Supervisors and the Toledo City Council, the city council voted 3-2 on Tuesday to install stop signs at the intersection of Ross and Ann streets running both east and west.

For several weeks, over four different meetings, the proposition of a stop sign has divided the county like little else.

After the city of Toledo received a slew of complaints about speeding on Ross Street, they went to the county, asking them to place a stop sign just outside the city limits. Ross Street has seen an uptick in traffic recently due to a detour for a bridge replacement on the Duponda, also known as Highway E43.

Throughout the meetings, several citizens have voiced their opinions on the possibility of a stop sign on the road. The necessity of the sign, the hindering nature of the sign, and the placement of the sign were all among the people’s complaints. Some brought up the fact that Miss Lacy’s Preschool is located on Ross Street. A few mentioned the Preschool as a reason to have the stop sign and slow traffic, while others invoked the Preschool for the exact opposite reason. Local Karen Murty weighed in.

“There’s also a preschool right there, and I’m sorry, but we live in a pedophilia world. I don’t know why anybody needs to stop and stare at those children that are right off there in that yard, often. I don’t know why we would set that up. So, they could just sit there and watch those kids,” she said.

A number of people pointed out that Ross Street is a farm-to-market road and theorized that the placement of a stop sign would be a hindrance. It was stated that the semis, tractors, and other large pieces of equipment that regularly use Ross Street to come into town would find it hard to stop. Some even went far enough to say that it would be an act of harassment against the farmers.

As the issue started to take on a Town People vs The Farmers turn of mind, Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Doland tried to put things back in perspective and bring everyone back to earth.

“All this come about because there was a request to put up a stop sign. It’s not gonna cost us any money. Here’s what we need to get away from, the us-versus-them mentality that we all have. This is all Tama County, the city of Toledo, the city of Tama, the city of Traer, the city of Dysart, the city of Garwin, Gladbrook,” he said. “These are all cities that butt up to small communities if we all fight and have all this in fighting over something that is so trivial we’re all going to drown. We have to learn to get together and get along. This wasn’t that controversial of a request, I didn’t think, but I think that we gotta stop looking out for what just benefits me and look out for what benefits all.”

Those who were not in favor of the sign made it a point to come up with alternatives for the county and the city. Multiple people put forth the idea that an increased police presence on the road would help address the issue. The citizens also brainstormed putting up a radar speed limit sign, which is a sign that shows what drivers’ speeds are in real time.

At Monday’s Tama County Supervisors meeting, the supervisors ultimately decided that they would not be putting up the stop sign. They thought as an alternative, they might trim the trees and brush around the already posted speed limit sign on the road.

At Tuesday’s Toledo City Council meeting, the issue was again discussed. Things got slightly heated as the idea of the stop sign was both defended and attacked. Toledo Police Chief Dan Quigley was on hand and stated that a mobile patrol had been increased in the area of the problem street. The Chief stated that sitting on the street for approximately half an hour, there were six to a dozen vehicles caught exceeding 30 miles an hour.

“If you gotta truck coming to town, that’s hard to stop. Again, the daycare has not complained, but we’re trying to avoid a potential problem there,” Mayor Brian Sokol said. “If a kid kicks a ball out and goes running after the ball, you just said you can’t stop. We don’t want that to happen.”

This was in response to Nancy Smith mentioning that trucks might not be able to stop at the proposed stop sign.

The council finally took a vote to place a stop at the intersection of Ross and Ann streets running both East and West. The motion passed 3-2, with council members Joe Boll and Terry Goodhart voting nay.