HUNTSVILLE (KFSM) - The first stop light is coming to Madison County, but not everyone is behind the new addition.
"It'll be the first stoplight in Madison County and it's about time," said Jean Kendrick, who lives in the Huntsville area.
City leaders said the three-way signal will go up at the intersection of Lee Street and Arkansas Highway 23. It's a busy area with Huntsville High School down the road.
"You have parents coming to pick up the kids, we got kids driving their own vehicles," said Kendrick. "You take your life in your own hands at that time of day."
But other residents, like Colene Parker, don't see the need for such a major change.
"We don't have that much traffic," said Parker. "Except when the schools are let out, then it's busy."
Public works director Jason Polley said the consensus in Huntsville is about 50/50. He said after several attempts to deal with increased traffic, a light is probably the best solution.
"It probably is to get with the times," said Polley. "For a long time I thought it could be controlled by manual control by the [police] officers, but as busy as they are anymore, it seems like they just don't have the time."
Polley said the light will not hold up traffic when school isn't in session.
"It's a video controlled light. It's not set off by the pads in the road like the old style of lights, so it's much more efficient. Nobody is going to have to sit there and wait for any long period of time," said Polley.
Polley said the bid was sent out right now to find a contractor, and work could start by the end of February.
The project will be entirely paid for by the state, but Huntsville will be required to maintain it after that time.