EDITORIAL: Dangerous intersections need serious look

In Thursday’s issue of the News, we featured a story about a county resident seeking help from the county commissioners concerning safety at the intersection of Indiana 66 and the entrance to Waupaca.
Geoffrey Jennings told the commissioners at their Nov. 21 meeting that five serious accidents occurred on the road leading into Waupaca the first six months of the year. There have more than likely been countless near-accidents as well.
And while the commissioners can’t do anything directly about the intersection, they did offer their help, which will be important and needed down the road as the situation is addressed.
“I think this has been looked into before, several years ago, and for some reason it just fell on deaf ears,” Commissioner Jody Fortwendel said. “Maybe it needs to be re-energized.”
We agree and we applaud Jennings on his efforts. We also hope the commissioners continue to press the issue so that it does not fall through the cracks once more.
Dangerous intersections in our county need to be addressed and handled in the best possible way to ensure the safety of our residents and those traveling to work here.
And the Waupaca intersection is not the only dangerous one in the county. Though there are caution lights at the intersection of Indiana 37 and 237, there are still many drivers who turn left without stopping, or proceed to turn either direction with several cars heading north or south bound.
The intersection at the entrance of ATTC and Indiana 37 from time to time also presents a similar situation as Waupaca.
We aren’t assigning blame to anyone – we, like Mr. Jennings and the commissioners, recognize these areas present dangerous situations for everyone. It is important we do all we can to make sure we’re all safe on the roadways.
Caution lights, stop lights, adding turning lanes and other solutions do cost money and we do realize this issue may not be priority for the moment, given the strain on budgets across the county and state.
However, it doesn’t mean it is not important. We hope others agree and join Jennings in voicing concerns to those in state government and with the Department of Transportation. We cannot receive help if we do not ask for it. And we as a county should not allow the issue to continue to be unrecognized.
In the meantime, we hope Mr. Jennings’ actions, which brought this issue to light, and our reporting make everyone more aware of these intersections. A fix might not be in the immediate future, but hopefully we can all be more cautious.
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