Aug. 19, 2026, 5:03 a.m. ET
A resident is concerned about the removal of stop signs at West Sixth Street and Maryland Avenue in Erie.The city is urged to study traffic data to ensure pedestrian safety is not compromised.A local nonprofit, SafeNet, thanks the Erie community for its donations during the Erie Gives event.A reader questions Sen. Dave McCormick’s vote to confirm Todd Blanche as U.S. Attorney General.Erie must study impact of removing stop signs at West Sixth, Maryland
I am concerned by the City of Erie’s decision to remove the stop signs on the east and west approaches of the intersection at West Sixth Street and Maryland Avenue. As a nearby resident, I walk along West Sixth Street frequently and am familiar with this intersection. Removing the stop signs creates a longer uninterrupted stretch of roadway through a residential neighborhood where families, children and pedestrians regularly walk and cross the street. The intersection is also adjacent to St. Joseph’s Apartments, home to hundreds of residents age 62 and older.
The decision to remove the stop signs was based on factors such as traffic volume, crash history, and sight distance, and that stop signs are not intended to act as speed-control devices. It was also based on the addition of a bridge connecting the Frontier neighborhoods, and the expectation that it would divert traffic from West Sixth Street.
I question that assumption. The bridge primarily serves as a neighborhood connection and is not an obvious alternative for drivers who use West Sixth Street as an east-west route. If an anticipated reduction in traffic contributed to the removal of the stop signs, the city should now measure whether that reduction is actually occurring. This is important as continued bayfront development has the potential to increase and shift traffic patterns and volumes — changes that, from my experience, already appear to be occurring along West Sixth Street.
Removing the stop signs should not mean accepting higher vehicle speeds or diminished pedestrian safety as an unavoidable consequence.
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I urge the city to monitor vehicle speeds, traffic volume, and pedestrian activity along West Sixth Street and make the results public. If the data shows excessive speeds, increased traffic, or other safety concerns, the city should act quickly to implement appropriate traffic-calming and pedestrian-safety measures.
The decision to remove the stop signs is based on what the city expected to happen. What matters now is what actually happens. If traffic does not decrease as anticipated, or if vehicle speeds and pedestrian-safety concerns increase, the city should revisit its decision. The safety of a residential neighborhood should ultimately be determined by what the data shows, not what was predicted.
Stacey Miller, Erie
Sometimes we all need a little positivity in our lives, and the generosity shown during Erie Gives provides us with a wonderful reason to celebrate.
Once again, the Erie community came together in extraordinary support of the nonprofits working every day to make our community safer, stronger and more hopeful.
We also sincerely thank The Nonprofit Partnership for its hard work in bringing this day together and supporting our nonprofit community.
On behalf of everyone at SafeNet, I offer heartfelt thanks to every person who donated, shared our message or encouraged others to give. Every contribution matters.
More: Erie Gives event raises millions of dollars in support for nonprofits
For SafeNet, your support keeps our 24-hour hotline available; provides emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy and safety planning; and helps us respond to local hospitals when survivors need immediate medical advocacy and support. It allows us to be there for adults and children during some of the most frightening moments of their lives. Simply put, your generosity helps SafeNet save lives.
SafeNet is the only accredited domestic violence agency in the City of Erie. We are grateful that our community continues to stand with survivors and support a future free from abuse.
We could not do this work without you. Thank you, Erie, for showing up for SafeNet, survivors and our entire nonprofit community.
If you or someone you know needs help, SafeNet’s free and confidential hotline is available 24 hours a day at 814-454-8161.
Robyn Young, executive director, SafeNet
On July 21, U.S. Senator Dave McCormick posted to his X (Twitter) account: “The arsenal of democracy is roaring back to life…” The opposite is true.
In my view, McCormick shamefully helped to ensure that democracy is further endangered by being a deciding vote (50-49) in the Senate to confirm Todd Blanche to be U.S. Attorney General.
As his personal lawyer, Blanche defended the president against multiple charges, including four felony counts for his efforts to overturn the legitimate result of the 2020 presidential election. Trump has made it clear that he expects the Attorney General to serve him rather than the American people, and in choosing Blanche, he has served to ensure that the AG will.
In an acting capacity, Blanche brought to fruition the president’s revenge agenda: the filing of flimsy, bogus criminal charges against the president’s enemies. Those filings have been so flawed, dishonest, and demonstrated such incompetence that for the first time in U.S. history, proceedings brought by Justice Department attorneys are no longer trusted by many members of the judiciary, including Trump appointees.
I believe history will judge Dave McCormick.
Oren Spiegler, Peters Township