EL RIO : Flynn Puts Up Stop Sign at Busy Corner

County Supervisor John K. Flynn put on his work boots and gloves Wednesday in unincorporated El Rio to put up a stop sign residents have been requesting for two years.

Flynn erected the sign at the corner of Balboa Street and Walnut Drive, surrounded by a small group of residents who spearheaded the push to slow speeders in their neighborhood.

“Big trucks, 10-wheelers, come through here and there is nothing to slow them down,” said Louie Roche, who has lived in El Rio since 1945. “It used to be so peaceful.”

Neighbor Jack Bird praised Flynn for responding to residents’ concerns. The residents said they petitioned Supervisor Susan Lacey’s office two years ago to no avail.

Lacey was unavailable for comment.

“This is a walking route to our schools, and what John just did probably will save a child’s life,” resident Judy Ridenour said.

The sign installation comes out of a town meeting Flynn held Dec. 10, he said.

Bird and the others were pleased that the speeding problem may finally end, or at least ease up.

“Anything that’ll slow the people down,” he said. “They go 50-plus down here. And that’s not exaggerating.”