PINEVILLE, N.C. — Drivers in Pineville say a busy intersection near Carolina Place mall is dangerous and needs to be changed before even more crashes.
Mike Murphy works at Lee Lighting, which is directly across from the intersection of Park Road and Carolina Place Parkway. He says crashes are common and they're getting worse.
"I've seen so many accidents and the last one was a young girl," Murphy said. "It was terrifying for me to see that, and I had to direct traffic."
Murphy's worked there for 17 years and believes the intersection has become more dangerous in the last few years.
“The traffic has just gotten a lot worse," Murphy said. "We are getting one to two accidents a month here. I've been out there several times after they have taken place."
Murphy shared photos with WCNC Charlotte of two accidents at the intersection within a week of each other, earlier this month.
Pineville police confirm 4 crashes have been reported at the intersection since Dec. 1. Police said the actual number could be even higher for crashes they weren't called to.
“People are trying to turn left off Park Road and they have to navigate four lanes of traffic," Murphy said.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation maintains the road and said more than 5.4 million vehicles traveled that intersection between Dec. 1, 2020, to Nov. 30, 2021. There were nine crashes reported during that time. Five of them were property damage only, while injuries were reported in four others.
There were no reported fatal crashes during this time.
Communications Officer Jennifer Thompson said NCDOT has looked into putting a traffic signal at that intersection in the past but it’s been several years.
“There might not have been enough traffic or data to support putting a signal there at that time,” Thompson said.
Thompson said NCDOT will take another look at the intersection due to the development and growth of the area.
“We do maintain Carolina Place Parkway," Thompson said. "So, we will primarily look at the data there but also the design of the road, the layout, and two, if a treatment is warranted."
Thompson added data collection was suspended during the pandemic, so there is a backlog.
“Lots of businesses were closed, everybody had adjusted and changed their driving habits," Thompson said. "So, it wouldn't have probably been beneficial to get any measurements during that time, because it wouldn't have accurately reflected the travel."
A traffic data collection firm was at the intersection Monday, adding a camera.
“We collect data for businesses or for private," Michael Smith with Quality Counts said. "They use that data for their proposals or to make changes to a street."
NCDOT said it could take up to 12 weeks to analyze traffic in the area and determine if any improvements are needed. Thompson said changes could include anything from a traffic light to speed humps or restricting turns at the intersection. It's still too early to tell as more data is gathered.
“If we do come up with a treatment, then it has to be submitted as a project," Thompson said. "Then it is submitted for funding consideration."
Meanwhile, Pineville Police Chief Michael Hudgins said they will assign a traffic car to this location to evaluate the situation and conduct enforcement when appropriate.
“We will provide our input to the town based upon our evaluation and will reach out to other departments that specialize in traffic flow patterns and the installation of traffic control devices to ensure safety and movement of vehicular traffic," Hudgins said.
“I’m just ecstatic that something is going to be done about it before someone gets killed, unfortunately,” Murphy said.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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