Lynn lands 7 spots on dangerous intersections list

LYNN – Lynn doesn’t have the worst intersection in the state, but seven hot spots did make it onto the state Department of Transportation’s 2008-2010 Top 200 Intersections Crash List.Traffic Officer Sgt. Ned Shinnick said none of the intersections, which were all on Western Avenue or Essex Street with the exception of one, were a surprise.”Western Ave. is, notoriously, always in the top 10 for the year for us,” he said. “We do our own top 10 list each year.”View a chart of local intersectionsThe intersection of Western Avenue and Franklin Street ranked 29 on the list, Western and Washington Street ranked 53, Western at Chestnut Street ranked 56 and Western at Cleveland ranked 199. Market Street at Broad Street also ranked 199, and Essex Street at Chestnut and Essex at Joyce streets came in 87 and 169 respectively.Shinnick said what makes Western Avenue a difficult street is the sheer volume of traffic combined with the number of traffic lights.”It’s the main thoroughfare in the city,” he said. “From Revere to Salem, it is the biggest roadway with the most traffic.”He said Lynnfield Street, which didn’t even rank on the list, is probably close in traffic volume but Western Avenue has more traffic lights, which slow traffic. When traffic begins to back up drivers will begin to push their way through the lights, and that is where the trouble starts, he said.”The square around Stop & Shop is really the biggest problem,” Shinnick added. “We’ve tried to correct it with the timing of traffic lights but it comes down to it’s just a congested area.”He believes the problem with Market Street is drivers headed west trying to take a left onto Broad Street and travelers coming from the Lynnway giving them few breaks.While Western Avenue racked up the most crashes, Essex Street was the scene of two fatalities, one each at the intersection of Chestnut and Joyce streets. Shinnick said the latter included a cyclist struck by a motor vehicle and it actually took place several meters away, but Joyce Street is the closest intersection.Last July the Essex and Chestnut intersection was the site of another fatality when a woman was struck and killed by a Greater Lynn Senior Services van.Shinnick said he hasn’t seen a big difference in traffic over the last few years.”It’s pretty much the same: There are just more cars on the road everywhere,” he said. “Every household has two or three cars when they used to have one, maybe two. Plus you have texting and driving now and people are just not paying attention.”There is good news in terms of traffic control, however. Shinnick said Police Chief Kevin Coppinger has reestablished the Traffic Safety Unit. He said the unit spends a lot of time in and around school zones, which is where most of his complaints originate, but when school is not in session they come from the Lynnway, Western Avenue and other high-traffic areas.”It’s two officers, they work together and its main focus is traffic safety and traffic enforcement,” he said.Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].