ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – A Rochester Hills resident raised concerns about an intersection near her home after she said she has seen about 30 crashes there and frequently sees near misses.
Here’s a tip Local 4 received:
“I wanted to bring to your attention, an intersection in Rochester Hills that I believe Warrants study for unsafe driving and traffic hazards: Walton Boulevard at Old Perch Road.
I live immediately adjacent to this intersection and from personal observation, it is an extremely dangerous location.
I frequently witness near-misses and accidents at this intersection, and the lvel of risk appears to be high on regular basis."
Jen Damman, Rochester Hills resident
So, Local 4 headed to the intersection to see how dangerous it is.
Jen Damman moved to Rochester Hills five years ago. Her backyard is right next to Walton Boulevard.
She knew there would be noise, but she wasn’t expecting all the crashes.
“I’d say 30,” said Damman regarding the number of crashes she’s seen.
The issue is at the intersection of Walton and Old Perch, according to Damman, where westbound traffic is trying to turn left. It has the right of way with a green left turn arrow, but then it becomes a yield with a flashing arrow. Damman said that’s when crashes happen.
“They’ve been pretty bad, we’ve seen people taken out of stretchers, sitting on the curb,” she said.
In fact, one crash happened the morning after our Local 4 cameras were there. Damman heard it and saw it from her backyard.
What’s the problem?
Damman thinks drivers have a hard time seeing oncoming traffic. But the Road Commission for Oakland County said it’s really about impatient drivers.
“The problem is in rush hour, there’s very heavy traffic, and people take risks and try to run through the red light,” said Craig Bryson with the Road Commission for Oakland County.
The road commission said they can eliminate the left turn on yield to always stop oncoming traffic.
“But we don’t see that as preventing very many of the crashes, and it would cause a greater delay, it would make the congestion worse,” said Bryson.
Either way, thanks to Damman bringing this to our attention, traffic engineers will be taking a closer look.