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Staff photo by Kevin McGloshen
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PROCEED WITH CAUTION: City seeking federal grant to ease traffic woes
New Albany earned the dubious distinction of having four of the most dangerous intersections in the state last year as classified by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Silver Street at Spring Street, Vincennes Street at Spring, Beechwood Avenue at Charlestown Road and the interchange at Interstate 265 and State Street were among the top five percent of most hazardous intersections surveyed by INDOT.
While not a lofty accolade, the categorization allows New Albany to pursue a federal grant to fund improvements at the intersections. Most federal grants require a 20 percent match, but the one being wooed by the city covers 90 percent of upgrade expenses if New Albany’s application is awarded.
As a step toward hopefully obtaining federal funding, the Board of Public Works and Safety approved an administration request Tuesday to foot a $2,700 study to be performed by the firm Clark-Dietz, which has worked with the city on various sewer and stormwater projects.
Using information from the analysis, Clark-Dietz will submit the city’s application to INDOT which is due in about three weeks. The state handles the requests and the federal government funds the awarded projects.
Clark-Dietz’s contract is being funded out of the local roads and streets account, which is an annual allotment awarded to New Albany each year based on fuel tax.
John Rosenbarger, director of public facilities projects for New Albany, said a private firm was needed because there isn’t anyone on the city’s staff with the expertise to adequately assess the risks at the intersections and suggest solutions.
Clark-Dietz will study the entire Spring Street area to see how each segment of the busy thoroughfare impacts the whole route.
“We believe that a big contributing cause is speed along that corridor,” Rosenbarger said.
Calming traffic conditions is also conducive to a walkable city where pedestrians are safe on neighborhood streets or at busy intersections, he added.
Speeding, careless driving, inattentive motorists — there’s several factors that contribute to accidents, New Albany Police Chief Greg Crabtree said. When the manpower is available, Crabtree said traffic enforcement is the best way for police to combat poor driving and cut down on wrecks.
But the emphasis falls on drivers to be diligent and recognize their surroundings, Crabtree advised.
“Use caution. Don’t jack rabbit your car out of the stop light. Look around — try not to tie yourself up on a cell phone,” he added.
Crabtree said he’s not surprised with the intersections that were targeted by INDOT, as they are frequently the sites for accidents.
There is state interest in improving at least two of the intersections, as it owns I-265 and Ind. 111 which includes the Beechwood Avenue at Charlestown Road connection.
As an aside, the state has been trying to remit control of Ind. 111 to New Albany, but negotiations are ongoing as to how much the city should be paid to maintain the road with several needed improvements along the route already identified.
Mayor Doug England said the administration will ask INDOT to chip-in for the expenses of upgrading the intersections that involve state-owned roads if the city is awarded the grant.
According to state traffic safety data, Floyd county had 2,652 accidents in 2008 — the 19th highest among Indiana counties — and 10 fatalities associated with the wrecks.
But INDOT doesn’t mark an intersection for improvements based solely on accidents, Rosenbarger said. They also calculate the number of vehicles that travel through the intersection daily.
Clark-Dietz will pull accident reports associated with the intersections when preparing its analysis, Rosenbarger added. He said one other company beyond Clark-Dietz provided an estimate for preparing a study, and its price was $9,000.
Rosenbarger said he’s confident in Clark-Dietz’s ability and believes the city could be awarded a grant.
“We’ve got a pretty good chance of success,” he said.
If New Albany receives the grant, England said he will pursue public funding to allot for the city’s 10 percent match. The opportunity to have the federal and possibly state governments pay for the majority of the upgrades makes the offer too good to pass up, England said.
“If [an intersection] is dangerous and identified as a hazard, we should give attention to it,” he said. “It’s something we really need to do.”
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