This Month in Rochester History

Fifty years ago this month, Rochester area residents were thinking about traffic. Specifically, they were concerned about the intersection of Rochester and Avon roads, which only had a blinker as a traffic control device - not a stop-and-go signal.  Leader Dogs for the Blind, located on a corner at that intersection, expressed concern for pedestrian safety and asked for a regular traffic light to be installed.

The state highway department initiated a study of traffic passing through the Rochester/Avon intersection and issued a report a few weeks later. According to state officials, a blinker light was all that was required, as the intersection had insufficient traffic to warrant the installation of a regular signal.

Local residents persevered, however; four months later, the highway department reversed its earlier decision and ordered a stop-and-go traffic signal installed at Rochester and Avon.