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The death of a 16-year-old girl following an accident at a Cary intersection has area residents concerned.
They say Greenlevel To Durham Road and Cary Glen Boulevard has been the site of numerous close calls and bad accidents in the past.
Now that there’s been a fatality there, area residents are renewing their calls for the town of Cary to do something about what they say is a dangerous stretch of road.
“Its kind of scary. It’s a wide road and people go quite fast up and down it,” said Foster Thorbjorsen, who has lived in the area for about two years.
As reporters were talking to Thorbjorsen and others about that intersection Tuesday afternoon, another accident happened, as if to illustrate their concerns.
A Mustang traveling along Greenlevel to Durham Road was broadsided, causing the Mustang to spin out of control and land on the sidewalk facing the wrong direction.
“They definitely need a traffic light here because the cars just keep on coming through," said Zakeyah Washington who was walking with her sister near the intersection.
But getting a light there is no easy task.
“It’s a state road, and that’s been our difficulty,” explained Cary Town Council member Jennifer Robinson.
She said the state requires certain criteria be met before it allows a traffic light is installed.
“Traffic volume and wait times are two specific criteria,” she said.
Other factors included accidents.
“We’re trying to determine if the accident that happened on Monday would be one of those types of accidents,” Robinson said.
For the father of Kailee Birdsong, the 16-yr-old who was killed at the intersection Monday, the question about the type of accident that occurred at the site is pretty obsolete.
“This didn’t have to happen,’’ declared Robby Birdsong. “If there had been a traffic light where it is definitely needed, my daughter would be alive right now.
Councilor Robinson said, even the town gets approval for a traffic light, it takes a very long time to get one in place.
In the meantime, she said Cary is looking at other temporary measures for that intersection like flashing warning lights, a lower speed limit or perhaps four-way stop signs.
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Comments
By elizabeth magee on 07/05 11:21 AM
this is a response for the post by AGW..yes if kailee had been wearing her seatbelt maybe she would be alive today.But how many traggic accidents have you heard of that included fatilities that the occupants were wearing seatbelts? The lack of a seatbelt does not make up for the fact that my grandaughter's life was taken.So seatbelt or not-some type of traffic light or other means of safety would have surley prevented this accident.Please everyone that has a heart and compassion,rally with us to get this problem alleviated.
By AGW on 06/25 10:37 AM
maybe if the teenager had been wearing her seatbelt.....
By WickedViking on 06/25 06:36 AM
What about a traffic circle - and one large enough to slow traffic down. It works great all over Europe and it's about time we started using them over here as well. Traffic will move better than with a traffic light, which will only serve to increase congestion and pollution.
By Jack on 06/24 03:39 PM
You can contact the Cary mayor at harold.weinbrecht@townofcary.org as I did but will probably refer you to NCDOT. You can also leave a comment on the NCDOT contact website at http://www.ncdot.org/contact/
By CMG on 06/24 03:04 PM
Does anyone know who to call and where to start to get this major problem on Green Level to Durham Rd fixed? I would be delighted to even see 4-way stop signs in the meantime, while we wait for traffic lights! Once the Mills Park Middle School opens next year, it's only going to get worse!
By Cindy Carr on 06/24 02:19 PM
I take issue with blaming the lack of a traffic light at this intersection on the NCDOT. There has been a traffic light installed at the intersection of Louis Stephens Drive and Morrisville Parkway (near Carpenter Elementary School) for nearly 2 years and this intersection does not have cross streets. Both roads are NCDOT roads and there is not enough traffic to warrant a light but there is one there anyway. I think the Town is misrepresenting or misinterpreting the requirements for a traffic light.
By Jack on 06/24 01:30 PM
It doesn't take a traffic engineer to know that there is a problem with these wide roads, ever increasing traffic, with absolutely no controls at these dangerous intersections. Just fix it now!
By john on 06/24 11:12 AM
I don't live there, but how many people need to die before your State will do ANYTHING!
By john kim on 06/24 09:21 AM
hope we don't have to wait for more accidents and or deaths before they do something!
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