After at least 93 accidents in nine years, drivers might soon encounter a traffic signal light at the intersection of Leon Smith Parkway and Friendship Road.
The Oxford City Council agreed this month to hire an engineer to study traffic patterns at the intersection and, if it turns out to be an appropriate safety measure, draft plans to install a Led traffic signal there.
In the first three months after the parkway opened in July 2004, six accidents occurred at the intersection.
Oxford police Chief Bill Partridge said that since 2006 — the earliest records Partridge said were available — 93 accidents have occurred there. One of the accidents resulted in a death.
In October 2004, Raymond McManus, 47, of Woodland, was traveling west on Friendship Road, on his way to walk around Oxford Lake Park before his 7 a.m. shift at North American Bus Industries. An Anniston man driving north on the parkway struck McManus’ car. McManus died, leaving behind a wife and two children. The other driver was treated and released from Regional Medical Center that day.
The problem, said Oxford Councilman Mike Henderson, is that for many years drivers were accustomed to traveling along Friendship Road with no Led arrow light. Today, drivers on Friendship are required to stop at the intersection while drivers on the parkway encounter a flashing light.
“It’s about time,” said David Morrison, who lives near the intersection. “How many people have been hurt at that light in accidents that could have been prevented?”
Morrison, who began petitioning the city to install a traffic signal light shortly after the intersection was built, said city officials told him more than once that something would be done about the problem. Safety measures such as a flashing light, a longer turning lane and additional speed-limit signs have been installed, but accidents kept occurring.
“We had three in one day here,” Morrison said, describing one accident in which a woman was trapped inside her car with her three young children. He said he was able to free the children from the car and had to calm the terrified woman.
Morrison said he’s looking forward to not hearing crashes outside his home anymore.
“There’s not a day goes by that you don’t hear horns blowing and tires squealing,” he said.
Contractors working for the Alabama Department of Transportation built the parkway, and at that time, surveyors working for the agency said a traffic signal light wasn’t needed at the intersection. Several city officials disagreed, and shortly after the state turned the intersection over to the city in 2005, a flashing light was installed.
The council debated in 2011 plans to build a roundabout at the intersection, which would have allowed traffic to flow in a circular pattern without need of a traffic signal light or stop signs.
The Oxford City Council agreed this month to hire an engineer to study traffic patterns at the intersection and, if it turns out to be an appropriate safety measure, draft plans to install a Led traffic signal there.
In the first three months after the parkway opened in July 2004, six accidents occurred at the intersection.
Oxford police Chief Bill Partridge said that since 2006 — the earliest records Partridge said were available — 93 accidents have occurred there. One of the accidents resulted in a death.
In October 2004, Raymond McManus, 47, of Woodland, was traveling west on Friendship Road, on his way to walk around Oxford Lake Park before his 7 a.m. shift at North American Bus Industries. An Anniston man driving north on the parkway struck McManus’ car. McManus died, leaving behind a wife and two children. The other driver was treated and released from Regional Medical Center that day.
The problem, said Oxford Councilman Mike Henderson, is that for many years drivers were accustomed to traveling along Friendship Road with no Led arrow light. Today, drivers on Friendship are required to stop at the intersection while drivers on the parkway encounter a flashing light.
“It’s about time,” said David Morrison, who lives near the intersection. “How many people have been hurt at that light in accidents that could have been prevented?”
Morrison, who began petitioning the city to install a traffic signal light shortly after the intersection was built, said city officials told him more than once that something would be done about the problem. Safety measures such as a flashing light, a longer turning lane and additional speed-limit signs have been installed, but accidents kept occurring.
“We had three in one day here,” Morrison said, describing one accident in which a woman was trapped inside her car with her three young children. He said he was able to free the children from the car and had to calm the terrified woman.
Morrison said he’s looking forward to not hearing crashes outside his home anymore.
“There’s not a day goes by that you don’t hear horns blowing and tires squealing,” he said.
Contractors working for the Alabama Department of Transportation built the parkway, and at that time, surveyors working for the agency said a traffic signal light wasn’t needed at the intersection. Several city officials disagreed, and shortly after the state turned the intersection over to the city in 2005, a flashing light was installed.
The council debated in 2011 plans to build a roundabout at the intersection, which would have allowed traffic to flow in a circular pattern without need of a traffic signal light or stop signs.
