Intersection raises safety concerns

Rush-hour traffic can be dangerous without using proper precautions, but residents living near the new intersection of Trimble Road and East Broadway have to be especially careful.

In just an hour on Monday evening, the drivers of 30 automobiles made U-turns in the new intersection. Although it’s not illegal, making U-turns during peak traffic has caused some near-accidents.

The Columbia Police Department has received a lot of complaints from residents of the area about drivers making U-turns, but officers have been telling them that the maneuvers are legal. Sgt. Tim Moriarity, supervisor of the traffic unit, was surprised to find a couple of weeks ago that the city and state had designed the intersection to permit U-turns.

“From my perspective, I wanted to enforce U-turn violations, but we did not have an ordinance to do that,” Moriarity said. “When I talked to engineers, they said they designed the intersection to allow U-turns. They don’t really want to advertise that it’s OK, but they are not making it against the law. If the road is able to handle it, it’s fine. But right now, it causes stress for the driver because they are unsure if they can do it.”

The new stoplight, which has eased traffic for residents of Broadway Village, Smithton Apartments and Jacob’s Place, has been there since November, and by now most Columbians have discovered the ins and outs of the intersection. Changes in surrounding roads, however, have prompted more drivers to make U-turns.

Drivers exiting the Broadway Marketplace, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart Supercenter and other surrounding businesses are directed to U.S. 63 by three street signs, leading them to a new stoplight on Trimble, which is an outer road that directs cars back to Broadway. But some drivers fail to follow the signs and try to use the former route, traveling through a four-way stop and onto Brickton Road heading south, which used to be the shortest route to reach U.S. 63.

Drivers can no longer turn left from Brickton onto Broadway to travel east. Rather, they’re forced to make a right turn, which sends them to the stoplight at Trimble Road. That’s where many decide to make U-turns.

“I have to make a left turn into our complex, and people are making U-turns,” said Broadway Village manager Jan Patton. “The first time I thought people just must be confused, but now it happens all the time. I have never seen an accident, but you learn to watch people in front of you and not go too fast.”

Residents of Broadway Village have complained about the U-turns, said Dan Hagan, owner of the complex.

Columbia Traffic Engineer Richard Stone said U-turns will be permitted for now because there have been minimal problems and no accidents. City staff will monitor the intersection. “We are concerned about larger vehicles making U-turns,” Stone said.

Stone said signs near Brickton Road directing drivers to U.S. 63 have not eliminated U-turns. Moriarity wants drivers to notice the signs and use Trimble instead of Brickton.

“I hate to deter people away from businesses along Brickton,” Moriarity said. “The only problem is that we have issues of people pulling out of the surrounding subdivisions and meeting those doing U-turns as they are making a right turn on a yield, and they don’t expect it.”

Moriarity said he still worries that drivers are not making safe and proper U-turns; some, for example, swing into the far lane rather than turning into the lane nearest them.

Stone said the city is exploring whether to add signs telling drivers that U-turns are legal.

“We are trying to find out what the best way would be. We don’t want to give drivers too much information so they aren’t overloaded,” Stone said. “There are a couple of options we are looking at that will require timing changes to the light, but we are not sure we want to implement that at this point because all of the equipment has not been accepted for installation by the city for the entire project.”