Motorists travelling along Pontiac St. will soon have to hit the brakes one more time as they pass through Oxford Village.

On Feb. 12, the village council voted 5-0 to approve a recommendation from Police Chief Mike Solwold to have two stop signs – one for northbound traffic and one for southbound vehicles – placed on Pontiac St. where it intersects with Moyers Ave. The signs will cost $280 for materials and installation.

Don Brantley, director of the village Department of Public Works, said the signs will be installed “when the ground thaws.”

“I’d say probably by mid-April (or) the first of May,” he said.

Solwold explained the signs had been requested by residents who feel they’re needed.

Given it’s the “closest intersection” to Oxford Elementary, the chief told council the additional stop signs would provide both kids and adults with “a closer and safer option” to cross Pontiac St., which is “considered one of the village’s main roads and can produce heavy traffic at times.”

Currently, the only stop signs on Pontiac St. are located where it intersects with Park St.

But pedestrians typically don’t walk the extra distance to that intersection because  “children as well as adults tend to cross where it is convenient and closest to the school,” Solwold said.

“I don’t have a problem with (placing) a stop sign there,” said Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth.

But, she did express concern over how this new signage could potentially impact motorists using Pontiac St. to avoid the M-24 reconstruction project scheduled to run from March through November 2020.

“Next year, we’re going to be putting a lot of traffic down this street during the construction (work), I would assume . . .  I just don’t want to screw up the whole flow of traffic,” Helmuth said.

“There’s a way we can control that for special circumstances,” Solwold replied.

Following the meeting, Solwold told this reporter if the signs become an issue with regard to traffic flow, they could be covered with plastic bags during the summer months.

“When school’s in session, we’re not going to do that,” he said.

However, the chief doesn’t foresee the additional stop signs causing any problems.

“They’re just making one extra stop . . . I don’t think it’s going to be that big of an issue, but I guess we’ll find out,” he said. “We’ll just have to monitor it and see how it goes.”