It has been three years since Jim Amico’s 10-year-old son,  Jarrid, was killed by a van after being struck as he pedaled across the street near his Rye home on his bike. Police said that the 82-year-old man who was at the van’s wheel was driving below the speed the limit and was not charged.

It has been three years since Jim Amico has been trying to get a stop sign at the site in hopes that his heartbreak will never be shared by another.

Amico said that the two-lane corridor, in a school zone, is prone to fast cars, making it dangerous for pedestrians. He wants a stop sign there to slow down traffic. City city officials, though, have said a stop sign in the middle of the block would make the road more dangerous because drivers would not be expecting it.
Nevertheless, as our Editorial Board said in an April 2006 editorial: “City officials are obliged to take seriously the fear that speeding could contribute to other accidents, and the suggestion that stop signs and crosswalks could protect young lives. The road should be observed, further traffic control considered and prospects for improvements discussed with a community that is now mourning with one of its families.”

This month we learned that the city has indeed launched a study at the accident site to find out how drivers’ sight lines can be improved.

That’s called responsive govenrment. Even though it has been three years. Amico’s consistent advocacy, born out of grief, has been a fight against “city hall’’ — that euphamism for all levels of government that belongs to us but sometimes doesn’t listen. Good for him. Good for him and the neighborhood.

Photo: Jim Amico of Rye holds a portrait of his son Jarrid April 17, 2009. Jarrid was hit and killed by a van  on Midland Avenue while riding his bike three years ago. ( Matthew Brown / The Journal News )