Will Charlotte’s New Traffic Signals Help to Prevent Accidents?

The city of Charlotte is expected to get many new traffic signals installed as part of the capital improvement projects designed to make the city safer. These new signals are set to be installed at various intersections throughout the city. We’ve listed a few of the areas set for new signals here.

16th Street & Parkwood Avenue

The area is known for its heavy and frequent traffic, especially due to the Discovery Place Science attraction that is located just minutes away from this intersection. A lot of new construction has been taking place right at this intersection. Some of the signals are currently being used to help direct traffic due to ongoing construction projects that are taking up a portion of the street.

24th Street & Church Street

Owners and operators of the Royal Cab, Integrity Maintenance Repair, Pure Intentions Coffee, and WASOC-TV will be happy, we’re sure, about the news lights. In the past, a single stop sign was used to direct traffic and prevent drivers from getting into collisions.

Briar Creek Road & Independence Boulevard

Due to traffic coming and going on Independence Boulevard, this was long overdue. WSOC ranked this intersection the 9^th worst intersection in Charlotte, saying “a lot of people are merging on from Briar Creek from Eastway Drive so you’ve got all the congestion. All these people trying to get to one spot and it creates this long back up and that’s where people tend to crash.”

Hawthorne Lane & Sunnyside Avenue

In the past, there was a single stop used to prevent vehicles from crashing into one another. However, with an uptick in traffic and the new Metro building, new signals are necessary to keep drivers and pedestrians safe at the intersection.

Will all these new intersections actually make the roads safer? We have to imagine so. Charlotte’s population has exploded over the last few years, with one estimate claiming potential 47% growth by 2030. With so many people in the city and the surrounding suburbs, the roads simply cannot keep up. Many intersections that only used stop signs 10 years ago are now dangerous places today.

Charlotte has been trying to improve safety measures

The city has been trying to improve safety for the last couple of years, by attempting to create bike lanes and encouraging the use of the walkways around the Overstreet Mall. The city’s most needed changes, however, come in the implementation of improvements along the West Boulevard Corridor from Camden Road to Billy Graham Parkway, and the extension of West Boulevard from I-485 to Dixie River Road. Given their proximity to the airport, such changes are truly needed if we want to cut down on the numbers of car crashes and on congestion in our streets.

Charlotte is taking steps to be a safer place to work, visit, and travel, but we have a way to go. If you have been in an accident and were injured due to someone else’s negligence, Warren & Kallianos, PLLC wants to hear from you. Call our Charlotte traffic accident lawyers at 704-377-7777 or send us your information through our contact form. We offer free consultations.