Plymouth Unveils Plan to Reduce Traffic Crashes
Plymouth Police have a new program to help cut down on vehicle crashes. According to officials, there were more than 800 motor vehicle accidents in the city last year. This number doesn’t include crashes on private property or freeways. Thousands of people navigate Plymouth roads each day. Police say Highway 55 is probably one of the most traveled.
“It’s a thoroughfare to Minneapolis from out west,” said Traffic Officer Steve Thomas “We get a lot of accidents right at 55 and Fernbrook and I don’t know why.”
City officials want to know why, too.
The police department is rolling out a strategic plan to keep track and reduce the number of accidents. Deputy Chief Erik Fadden is heading up the study. He says there are several pieces to the safety plan, including teaming up with school bus drivers. They want to know what drivers are seeing as they take students back and forth to school. Officials are also trying to figure out why many people are not being cautious when they see flashing yellow arrows.
“Flashing yellows have increased our accidents by 22 percent,” explained Officer Thomas.
New smaller, radar speed signs are also on the list. They are being used to check traffic flow and to catch speeders. Meanwhile, crews are busy installing five blue lights on traffic signals along Highway 55. When the light turns red, the blue light glows, making it easier for cops to spot people who run through red lights. Normally, police would have to follow suspected violators through the intersection, in order to determine if they really ran a light.
The program officially gets underway in a few months. Officials will continue to gather data and implement road changes based on their results.
