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Today's Poll: What do you think is the most dangerous intersection in the county?

By Howard B. Owens
Carol Foster

I really wish you had included the intersection of Routes 5 and 63 in front of Tops! It's almost terrifying at times when vehicles enter the merge area from Main Street westbound, and others are whipping around the other side from eastbound Main. Cars are stopping to make the left turn into RiteAid, cars are trying to turn into Tops from both directions, and there is no yield sign anywhere! Then you get someone who used a turn signal to make the turn, someone trying to get out of the Tops lot seeing the blinking light and thinking that car will be turning into the lot, pulling out right in front of it. It's enough to make a person not want to use that road to get to Wal-Mart! Whoever designed that corner must have been spun around and tipped on his head first!

Aug 8, 2012, 10:54am Permalink
C. M. Barons

Granted there are intersections that present confusion and line of sight challenges, but the most dangerous intersection in ANY county is the intersection of poor drivers with vehicles!

Aug 8, 2012, 1:38pm Permalink
Justin Burger

I'd like to write-in vote for the intersection of Route 262 and Byron Rd, in Byron. There are several accidents there a year, some of them severe, and a few years ago 2 young children were killed. It's a wide open intersection with no real blind spots, usually just people who drove through the stop signs on Byron Rd. After many complaints and inquiries to the DOT, they finally made it a 4-way stop.

A few miles down the road at 262 and Transit in Elba isn't very good either.

Aug 8, 2012, 1:51pm Permalink
Doug Yeomans

I honestly don't know why rumble strips at intersections aren't used more often. I believe they'd greatly reduce the number of accidents at problem intersections.

Aug 8, 2012, 2:51pm Permalink
RICHARD L. HALE

I vote...ANY intersection that has cars going in different directions!! As far as the corner by Tops...come on....where is your sense of adventure !! What gets me, is you turn on to 63 from westbound 5, and you go to turn onto Park Road. You wait until the line breaks to bear to the right to turn, and some clown drives right down the hashmarks to make the same turn. What made me laugh, when I pulled into the turning lane and cut him off,he threw his hands up and starting yelling at me!!! Same thing has happened at the College..people drive right down the hashmarks to make their turn. Is it possible to get broad sided by a car going in the same direction?.... yes it can happen. Another thing, how many of you know, that when you turn onto Veteran's Drive from Lewiston Road, that the entrance to Wal-Mart is the first left with the turning lane. If you wait and turn into the second drive by the store, you are making an illegal turn. Look at the lines. You could get a ticket. Another is on Oak Street, at the entrance to the Monsigner Kirby Apartments. If you are going north on Oak Street, you turn into Monsigner Kirby's driveway, you have to drive over a double yellow line. Again.. illegal.

I was told by a trooper one time,"they put those lines there for a reason" I wonder.....

Aug 9, 2012, 12:30am Permalink
Doug Yeomans

Quote Richard Hale: "Another thing, how many of you know, that when you turn onto Veteran's Drive from Lewiston Road, that the entrance to Wal-Mart is the first left with the turning lane. If you wait and turn into the second drive by the store, you are making an illegal turn."

Sorry Rich, but I have to call you out on that claim. I just looked on Google maps and there's clearly a turning lane there. There are also no signs forbidding a left turn into Wally World.

<img src="http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2348/btvawlmrttrngln2.jpg&quot; />

Aug 9, 2012, 9:10am Permalink
RICHARD L. HALE

Doug, you are right. There is a turning lane there, but no arrows. Both lines marking the turning lane are solid...no breaks. And no, there is no sign, but if a solid line speaks for itself, there is no need for a sign.Just as there is a turning lane all the way down main street. Turns are marked by arrows and broken lines. I believe that the same trooper told me, "you can't cross any solid line with a vehicle". That was several, several years ago, maybe the laws have changed. I'm going to look into this a little further....interesting to say the least.

Aug 9, 2012, 11:37pm Permalink
Doug Yeomans

Police often interpret the law to suit their needs at the moment and they let the lawyers and judges sort it out. That's clearly a turning lane and it's identical to the brand new lines that were painted down Ellicott. It used to be 4 lanes with no tuning lanes at most intersections. I prefer the new markings because it greatly reduced the quick lane changes that people in too much of a hurry used to make. The solid white line to the right is a fog line and it's not supposed to be crossed for passing on the right, which most people commonly do anyway. I don't mind if people pass on the right as long as they slow down and watch for driveways, etc. I hate it when people pass on the right through intersections. That kind of driving kills people.

Aug 11, 2012, 6:00pm Permalink

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