BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – Families who live near a Birmingham intersection said it’s dangerous to cross the street because drivers do not stop at stop signs.
Kimberly, a Birmingham resident, told Local 4 the four-way stop at the intersection of Eton and Sheffield -- which is near Woodward and West 14 Mile -- is “an accident waiting to happen.”
Residents said drivers speed and ignore stop signs, putting children and families at risk.
Local 4 went to the intersection on a weekday morning to see if this was true. Although we didn’t see drivers speeding, we saw drivers do a slow roll through the stop sign. Some didn’t stop at all.
“I try to avoid this intersection if I can, but sometimes you just can’t avoid it,” said Kimberly.
“We have a lot of people walking their dogs, putting their strollers, jogging and biking. And it’s a hazard,” she said. “People are flying through the intersection and they’re not paying any attention to people around them.”
The speed limit in the area is 25 mph.
“When I’m driving along here, most people are driving much faster than that,” said Tim, Kimberly’s husband. “I’ve been passed on Eaton in the residential area doing 25. They’re very dangerous.”
“I’m paranoid when I have to cross here,” said Kimberly. “We walk the neighborhood a lot and it scares me.”
The couple says some changes might make the area safer.
“I think if there was a traffic light here at this intersection, that’s one thing that would help,” said Tim. “Another thing that I think would help would be stop signs at just about every intersection on Eaton. It’s a cut through from 14 to 15 Mile Road. They drive too fast and carelessly.”
Local 4 reached out to Birmingham police, and they said South Eton from 14 Mile to Maple has a reconstruction project scheduled for next summer or fall that will include enhanced safety and pedestrian crossing features.