If people are driving through the red light, I think they need a larger blinking light so drivers are aware. Maybe a police car should be parked there 24/7 with it lights on

If people aren't stopping for a clearly marked red light then they definitely are not going to stop for just a crossing guard. This light is necessary to save children's lives. I commute down Central towards the GSP every morning when the light is in use and I have never experienced the problem.
Also, Enclescu said that the vehicular and foot traffic and signs have created an "eyesore." Seriously? Central Avenue is probably the busiest street in Westfield. Adding a couple signs plus stopped cars and a few children (for two hours a day) is not creating anymore of an eyesore that is not already there.

This issue needs to be dropped so that the Mayor and Council can get back to solving real problems and dealing with their thousands of other constituents.

If his birthday wish was to have this controversial issue go away, I hope he gets this wish AFTER he publicly acknowledges that this location was a MISTAKE, moves the light and walkway to the safer INTERSECTION location and APOLOGIZES profusely to the two Central Avenue residents and the people of Westfield. I can sort of accept the decision to put the light and walkway there at mid-block as having been done as what was truly felt to be the safest of the two options. People make decisions every day. In hindsight, certain decisions later prove to have been good decisions and other decisions, no matter how well-intentioned, later prove to have been poor decisions. As I have neither read (in Patch and the Westfield Leader) nor verbally heard a single good point as to why the mid-block location is deemed better than the intersection and I have heard tons of people (in Patch and the Westfield Leader) and verbally indicate they believe the current situation to be extremely dangerous, it seems to me that the scales tip far more in the direction of proving this to have been a poor decision. Compounding the problem exponentially is the fact that (1) Mayor Skibitsky and the Town Council seem unwilling to even consider the possibility that the INTERSECTION would be the safer location and (2) Mayor Skibitsky and the Town Council have drawn battle lines with the 2 residents rather than considering that the 2 residents could be correct and working WITH them to study the issue.

JR, understand that nothing will please those who oppose the light's current location except moving it. It won't matter what the data shows. If and when it is changed, those who want to crucify members of the Town Council can continue to use it against them if they decide to seek re-election. I also commute to work using Central Ave. every day and I live just a short distance from it and have never seen the "horrors" purported that occurred at this site. If cars are not stopping at red lights, then they won't stop at any red light not matter where it is located.

Was a traffic light necessary or would an all-Stop Sign intersection improve safety?

Speaking of Central Avenue, why is there no longer a school crossing guard at the corner of Grove Street and Central Ave.? Other Central Avenue cross streets have guards. Who decided children are safe walking through that super-busy Central Ave./Grove Street intersection without a guard to halt traffic? Some time I ago I wrote to the town asking if for Central/Grove "No Turn On Red" signs at least restricting red light right turns during before- and after-school hours. I got no reply, and nothing's changed at that intersection, either.

One other thing. I would not call that video-taped confrontation a "shouting match." An argument, yes. But not a shouting match.

This "fight" is taking up too much time and resources on all accounts! The town made a mistake with this "pedestrian" light. Take the light out and put a normal traffic light at the corner. I have personally used the light on a few occasions and the results have been poor.

The first time I used it the traffic stopped, however the car directly behind thought the fist car was making a LEFT turn into the drive way and proceeded to pass the stopped car on the right!!!.

The second attempt a few weeks later no one stopped!!

Finally just two weeks ago, the traffic stopped, but then proceeded to go through the light after I crossed the street.

** In all my years driving I have never seen a light that looks and functions as that one does, not many drivers understand what it is, or how it works. If you don't want to move the light to the corner, then why not replace it with a standard Red / Yellow / Green light? Keep the light green all the time and when someone pushes the button to cross make the light cycle to red.

You know, the red, yellow, green light sounds like a very good compromise.

I also have crossed at this light and almost got hit by a car going threw. You really have to watch and make sure the cars come to a complete STOP before going.
One thing I don't understand about the light is that it is only solid red for about 2 seconds then it starts blinking red back and forth. It should be solid red the whole time not blinking. I think that is what is confusing. Drivers also start to go once you have crossed and don't wait for the light to turn off. This light remind me of the kind that are yellow one way and red the other. Drivers are familiar with those lights which mean, "stop and if no traffic you can go" The blinking red is confusing. Keep it solid!

If a pedestrian gets hit by some driver not understanding this light, as in the situations that have been described, I am concerned that the town may get sued because it has allowed a confusing situation to persist after having been repeatedly informed.

too many drivers disregard stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks,I see it a few times a week on north ave at clark street,a little further down for lord and taylor, I'll stop in on direction and the car in the other direction makes no attempt to stop, see it on clark street by the y constanty, saw this weeek on clark street by roosevelt as school was letting out, crossing guard was waving his sign at the suv as it blew past the interesection--had plenty of notice, there are restictions on east dudleys turning left onto mountain ave 0700-0900, at 0850 i watched 6 cars and a school bus make an illegal left, educate and enforce- westfield has a reputation for being tough on parking and DWB- I'd rather see that toughness extend to pedestrian safety, its not just an issue at the central ave crossing-its all over town

I know i commented on this yesterday, but again my son was riding his bike to school on Thursday and a few cars passed the red light before someone finally thought it was a good idea to stop. BTW we saw the lady that lives on the corner recording the traffic. I hope she gets enough evidence of people running the light for the town to finally do something about this.

Everyone who has used the crosswalk or withnessed cars going through the solid red light, MUST go to the town council meetings and tell them your story. Get it on record