I've been noticing a trend at this particular intersection that is rather upsetting to me. I travel on 98 daily as I work in Batavia and live in Elba. What concerns me is the way the traffic light is set up for North and South bound traffic. When the light is red for South bound there is a green arrow for vehicles to turn left onto Route 5. After a period of time this arrow turns off and the green light for through traffic comes on. The Northbound light also has an arrow that turns on for vehicles turning left onto Route 5. As with the southbound it turns off and the green light comes on for through traffic.
What I have witnessed on numerous occasions are vehicles proceeding to make left hand turns across traffic long after the turn arrow has turned off. At least once a day I have seen near hits at this intersection, with todays incident being too close for comfort.
I am a member of a volunteer Fire Department who has responded to many accident calls over the years. I've seen my share of mangled vehicles with injuries of every description. All it takes is common sense and a couple extra seconds out of your busy day to ensure a safe journey to your destination.
I do have a suggestion that may or may not work. The addition of a red arrow above the green arrow to indicate that it is no longer safe to turn left. My hope is that someone will read this who has the expertise in traffic patterns to see if a change could be made.
The near hits will still happen until either a study is made or drivers take the time to make sure turning into traffic is safe for ALL vehicles at the intersection.
