Can you guess where the safest intersections are in Lincoln?
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Recently, we told you about the three intersections in Lincoln with the most crashes each year. But what about some spots with the least amount of crashes around town?
According to data from Lincoln Transportation and Utilities (LTU), the intersection at South 10th and ‘D’ streets stands out as one of the safest in Lincoln. With only one crash in all of 2020 and one in 2019, LTU says the way the streets align and traffic signals help make that intersection better than others.
“We have a number of intersections throughout the city that see zero or one crashes on a yearly basis,” Dan Carpenter, Manager of Traffic Engineering said. “Again, most of the intersections that see zero crashes are your standard residential intersections, but we do have some intersections, signalized and roundabouts, on arterial streets that don’t see any crashes.”
Just a block away, the city’s first mini roundabout at 11th and ‘D’ streets saw no crashes in 2020 and only two failure to yield crashes in 2019. That roundabout was installed in the early 2010’s to add bike lanes and adjust to the neighborhood development, but LTU says the roundabout has helped in other ways like cutting down on crashes.
If you head south of that roundabout, you’ll end up at S. 27th and Grainger Parkway. The intersection in front of Walmart that draws in a decent amount of traffic. But that particular spot has only seen one crash in the last two years.
“These intersections are great examples of what we can do to establish driver expectation at these intersections to make it operate as smoothly and safely as possible for all roadway users,” Carpenter said.
Of course, zero crashes at every intersection in the city is their goal, but LTU needs your help to do just that.
“Putting down your phones, paying attention to your surroundings and being cautious and patient with your fellow roadway users,” Carpenter said.
27th and ‘O’ Streets, 70th and Pine Lake Road, and 27th and Highway 2 are the intersections with the highest amount of crashes in Lincoln.