The Juneau Assembly adopted an emergency resolution during a meeting on Wednesday urging to the State Department of Transportation to do things quickly to repair the one the city’s most dangerous intersections .
One person was killed this summer in what’s referred to as the Fred Meyer intersection — at the point that Yandukin Drive crosses Egan Drive. There have been numerous accidents that have occurred at the intersection, with 17 sustaining injuries in the past 10 years.
From the resolution the City Clerk Beth McEwan said the city demanded “immediate and significant improvements” to stop more accidents.
“It’s actually been on the table since the tragic accident in June,” City Manager Rorie Watt said.
The need for a solution has been discussed for many years. The city in 2021 announced the results of an investigation of potential improvements. The top suggestion was to install an intersection stoplight however, many comments were against the idea.
In the summer, some temporary improvement ideas included longer medians and the reduction of 10 mph in speed during winter.
The Mayor Beth Weldon said Wednesday that she didn’t believe that the speed reduction will help.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Out of curiosity I drove at 55mph,” she said. “And was the slowest vehicle that I saw. I don’t believe that altering the speed limit will be able to alter the speed of the cars to a large degree. .”
Weldon stated that she believes the left-hand turn to Fred Meyer should be done entirely. The study of 2021 found that left-turns were the main cause of the accidents.
“I believe that anyone traveling inbound along Egan Drive will get used to not having the option of turning left to Fred Meyer and going about one mile further and then coming out of there,” she said.
The resolution requests the state to make use of information and recommendations from the study 2021 and take action quickly, implementing immediate improvements, using the money of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan.
