I’ll be hitting numbers 5 and 6 when I’m in town there next week. I believe that #6 is also home to the consulting company owned by Frank Abagnale of “Catch Me If You Can” fame.
Hmm, there’s one in Queens (NY) that killed 80 people in 2001. I guess they did some repairs there in the last couple of years or something, but I never thought there could be worse than that one.
That’s Queens Blvd. (AKA the Blvd of Death) and it is 80 in the last 10 years (or so). It is not at one intersection either, the people have been killed at various locations.
Yeah, I used to work over there (near Yellowstone Blvd, Austin st., etc) and that particular intersection (the yellowstone and jewel ave 3 way crazy one) has always scared me since I was a kid and would have nightmares about it. I didn’t know it was 80 deaths in 10 years though, that’s better than I had thought.
Hey we only have one on the list this year! Not bad. One year we had three (I think the other two were Park and Preston in Plano, and Preston and Beltline in Richardson).
Number eight is a pretty bad intersection, although I didn’t think it was bad enough to be the only one in the Dallas area to make the list. If anything, it seems like the 121/Tollway intersection on the other side of the mall is worse. I’ll have to keep an eye out - I pass through that intersection probably a dozen times per week. :eek:
Gee, it appears the Ultimate Intersection of Instant Crushed Hot Metal Death would be Memorial Drive and Roosevelt Boulevard. Good thing they’re in different states.
For number 8 I think it’s the size and the speed. Preston is 45mph and 121 may even be higher. For most of 121’s path the speed limit is 65 or 70, so people tend to miss that it lowers as it enters the city. There’s also the matter of volume. Number 8 is likely the busiest intersection in the area by a longshot.
Let’s hear from the people who use these intersections. As lost4life wrote, we want details; what is it about these intersections that makes them so bad?
Most of the problems with #2 and #3 are the same. I think #3 is worse, actually, so I’m going to examine that one.
The green light for Grant Avenue is far shorter than the light for Roosevelt Boulevard. #2 is a bit longer.
People wishing to make a left turn from Grant Avenue have to cut across 6 lanes of Roosevelt Boulevard. The previous point complicates this.
There is only one turning lane for turning from Grant onto Roosevelt, with a specific turning path painted onto the road. People unfamiliar with the intersection can miss this. Intersection #2 has two turning lanes, though.
The traffic volume is far higher then the intersection was designed for. Each turn of the light on Grant Avenue about lets an average of 6 cars through.
Finally, the light duration for Grant Avenue is so short that impatient people run the red light. This is quite possibly the most significant cause of the intersection’s problems, not only a problem in itself but exacerbating all the other problems.
Ugh. Roosevelt Ave is ultra confusing and very heavily traveled. Roosevelt is three lanes each way with tow lane sort-of frontage roads running along side of it.
Given that, you get those cut-over lanes from the outer to the inner Avenue, from which people peel out and cut over and into traffic. Lines are imaginary, so it’s not clear when you are turning off of Roosevelt onto a cross street where exactly you are supposed to turn. Also, light times are impossibly short, and you can get screwed just hanging out in traffic trying to turn, and won’t NOBODY let you go in. Also, Roosevelt twists and turns and changes directions a few times - that can get you confused on which direction you actually need to turn off of it. Do I go right on Grant or left - try to change your mind and SMACK. Goner.
I once got a flat tire on Roosevelt Ave. In the middle of June. In a dress. It was not pretty. I had to pull over to the innermost inner lane - not a lot of happy campers behind me. Did I mention the patience level of Philly drivers? Nonexistent.
I’m also suprised there werent any mentioned in the Chicagoland area - there are plenty that freak my stuff out, and I drive 70+ miles roundtrip every day from the city to Barrington, IL.
One year we had three (I think the other two were Park and Preston in Plano, and Preston and Beltline in Richardson).