DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS: Traffic troubles

Drivers following too closely are to blame for most accidents, police say

DALE DOMBROWSKI/VIEWAccording to information from Henderson police, the intersection of St. Rose Parkway and Eastern Avenue has been the scene of 64 accidents since Jan. 1, making it the most dangerous in Henderson. Henderson traffic accidents from Jan. 1 to Sept. 241. St. Rose Parkway at Eastern Avenue ? 642. Lake Mead Parkway at Boulder Highway ? 603. Eastern Avenue at Horizon Ridge Parkway ? 514. Sunset Road at Marks Street ? 485. Green Valley Parkway at Warm Springs Road ? 466. Sunset Road at Green Valley Parkway ? 427. Stephanie Street at Warm Springs Road ? 388. Sunset Road at Gibson Road ? 369. Sunset Road at Stephanie Street ? 3510. Whitney Ranch Drive at Sunset Road ? 33Henderson Police Department Advertisement

Zipping down St. Rose Parkway toward South Eastern Avenue at 55 miles per hour might feel more like driving on a freeway than a neighborhood road, which is what it actually is.

The intersection with four lanes in each direction has become a major arterial for the Henderson area and the most dangerous intersection in the city, according to the Henderson Police Department.

Of the city's 453 car accidents since Jan. 1, 64 have happened at this spot.

"I got rear-ended here a year ago," Anthem resident John Thompson said. "Everyone drives like they own the road. The streets used to be open, but now there's congestion."

The majority of the 10 worst intersections in Henderson are located in high traffic volume areas near St. Rose Dominican Hospital Siena and Rose de Lima campuses, the Galleria at Sunset mall and Sunset Station. Others are multiple spots along two major thoroughfares, Green Valley Parkway and Eastern Avenue, which have many retail and commercial centers.

"Seven out of 10 accidents (occur) because drivers are following too close," said Henderson police Sgt. John Gayer.

He said collisions also occur when drivers fail to yield while making a left turn or run red lights.

"There was an accident here this morning," Green Valley resident Brian Grady said of the fifth-worst intersection, at North Green Valley Parkway and West Warm Springs Road. "Everyone's going through lights that are not just yellow, but red."

Henderson police have worked with the engineering department to install red-light indicators at some intersections so officers can see when a light turns red, even though they are not in front of the traffic signal. The officers can be out of the driver's line of sight while watching the indicators.

Gayer said another major problem is speeding.

"It boils down to one thing," Grady said. "Everyone's in a rush going nowhere. No one has enough time."

The Henderson Police Department participates in the state Department of Traffic and Safety's Joining Forces Program, where the state gives the department funds to allow its officers to work overtime patrolling high-risk areas. The cops will look for speeders, impaired drivers and seat-belt violators.

"Enforcement is the biggest deterrent," Gayer said.

Grady said that although the police do a great job patrolling Henderson, there are only so many of them.

"People have to have common courtesy," he said. "Traffic is out of control, and it's only going to get worse."

Although the accident rate is down this year, the fatality rate has gone up, Gayer said. Only eight people were killed in traffic-related accidents in 2006, a record low year, and this year there already have been 21. About 75 percent of accidents citywide involve property damage with no bodily injuries, he said.