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Personal Injury Accidents and Street Signs

August 26, 2008 - 12:55pm — Thomas L. Johnson

My digital DJ reports yet another personal injury accident at a street corner in I. Falls and I chime in one more time and ask a simple question: WHY NO YIELD SIGNS?
Some time ago, I wrote this on the blog: "Falls intersections are scary, especially for people [like my son] who didn't grow up knowing, for instance, that many of the avenues are de facto through streets and that streets that cross them, despite the lack of yield signs, are outside normal right of way practices.

I commute to work in a four-lane truck-filled expressway where normal speeds are 65-70 mph, but I usually feel safer there than driving across IFalls on eighth or ninth streets. Of course, I'd give up the 30 minute commute in a heartbeat."

I did for the summer and had one very close call at the spot near Super One where 13th Avenue ends. There should be a yield or stop sign at the end of 13th Avenue so that people coming off the highway don't t-bone them. There should be yield signs for many of the avenues crossing 10th Street. About forty years after Jimmy Rogers lost his life at a quiet intersection a block away from Backus, why are people still running into each other at the intersections of International Falls? How much would it cost to do an analysis of the dangerous corners and plant some stop and/or yield signs.

I just got off 694 at 35 W. and can say, again, that I am never as close to disaster on the 70 mph freeways down here as I am driving to Super One. Just doesn't make sense to me that people are still running into each other on 30 mph streets of International Falls.

There was a bad one this...

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There was a bad one this week on 7th ave and 9th street I believe. The vehicles were traveling way to fast. I think because we do have less traffic people tend to go faster thinking no one is coming. I stop at each intersection because I have watched so many cars speed through the intersections and most don't even look to see if a car or heaven forbid a person on a bike should be coming. It is a problem and I think the city police do a good job but there are only so many officers and lots of intersections to cover. You have a good idea.

Submitted by kay on August 26, 2008 - 3:56pm.

I have traveled to most of...

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I have traveled to most of the states and most of the large cities in this good ole USA, and the worst intersections by far are right in little old I-Falls, Mn!! Many times when I have visited the Falls, my brother has been a passenger with me and has yelled "watch out" we're about to get T-boned. He has to remind me of the same old street sign layout that has been in place for almost a century. I don't get it. Minnesota, I'm sure has lots of DUI offenders locked up in prison who could be put to work making "yield" and "stop" signs for the Falls. If those of you in charge of the City planning and administration cannot get your act together for something as simple as safe intersection sign placement, then there is no wonder that you cannot do something a little more difficult, like "attracting new business"!! So, I'm telling you right here and now, GET IT TOGETHER!! Do you have some secret quota, that say's "X" amount of citizens must die, before the correct sign placement goes into effect?? As for the tragic death of Jimmy Rogers, I don't think any amount of speed limit signs or yield signs would have prevented his unfortunate demise! He was a neighbor of mine at the time, and I remember standing outside Overson's Minnow Store a week before he was killed, and a couple of parents were yelling at him for his reckless driving and speeding. I can remember like it was yesterday, that they told him to slow down or he would get killed. Obviously, he didn't listen. But, then again, some train wrecks are just waiting to happen.

Submitted by roj2000 on August 27, 2008 - 5:34am.

I agree that something needs...

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I agree that something needs to be done about these intersections. Last fall I called up to the city to see if it was possible to have a stop sign put in on the intersection I live on. Previously there was a stop sign but so many people complained about having to stop there they removed it. So now the intersection consists of my house and I have two children, a day care that just recently opened up, and a hotel that has a lot of people coming in and out. I makes it incredibly scary seeing as people come off the highway and are hitting 45-50mph by the time they get to the intersection because it is a straight stretch from the highway to another busy street. When I called the city they said they were unable to just put in a stop sign there had to be some need for it. They said they would get some "children at play" signs put up but that never happened either.....I guess it will take some bad accidents or a child getting hit for them to see the need for it.....The stop sign was put in for a reason in the first place and I don't think it should have been removed due to drivers wanting to have a faster way to get across town.

Submitted by ss84 on August 27, 2008 - 2:53pm.