SUFFOLK, Va. — A Suffolk teenager’s letter written eight years ago has led to a new traffic signal aimed at protecting firefighters and the public near Fire Station 10.
Ashtyn Elliott says she was just 11 years old when she first asked the city to install a stoplight outside the station on Bennett's Pasture Road.
“I really wanted to ensure the safety of the all the firefighters that work here, and I feel like it's very important to make sure that they're safe when they're leaving and coming back,” Elliott said.
The stoplight was officially switched on Tuesday, giving crews a signal to control traffic as they respond to calls along a busy, two-lane road.
Chief Michael Barakey says the station handles thousands of calls each year.
“This fire station will respond to about 3,000 calls for service a year. So about seven or eight times a day, at minimum, this station is dumping the fire truck, the ambulance, the supervisor vehicle, out. And as you can see, it's a two lane road, well-traveled road, getting busier by the day, and we really, really need to have some traffic control out here. And thanks to Ashton and her letter from 2018, we're here today with a traffic signal that not only works, but it's functional for the community,” Barakey said.
Barakey says the effort went through the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, traffic engineering and public works. It also involved acquiring land and installing the structure.
“So her letter was important to start the process. But then we enter this capital improvement project, the CIP. From the CIP, it went to traffic engineering, to public works. We had to acquire land. We had to acquire the structure of the light, the traffic signal, and we had to put traffic engineering and put everything into the ground, engineer it and then bring it here today. So it does take a while, but it was the catalyst to why we're here,” Barakey said.
Elliott says her late father, Bill Elliott, was deputy chief at the station for more than 20 years. She says the stoplight is also a tribute to him.
“I kind of wanted to do something that will also be in remembrance of him. He was the deputy chief of the volunteer fire department… all he wanted to do was make sure that all of his crew was safe. And I just wanted to do the same thing,” she said.
She also read the letter she sent to the mayor back in 2018 on Tuesday.
Now 19, Elliott says she hopes her story encourages others to speak up for their communities.
