Monticello, NY – The top 5 percent of state roads with “severe safety needs” include a bunch of well-known traffic spots in Orange County, and one speed strip in Sullivan County.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
No state roads in Ulster showed up on the list.
The Sullivan County area from Route 17’s Exit 104 to Route 17B in the Town of Thompson is an area familiar to most police who patrol the region — it had 10 roads listed on the report two years ago. A high percentage of accidents occur when cars coming off Route 17 at Exit 104 collide with vehicles trying to beat the light to turn onto the highway just past Jefferson Street.
“Predominantly, the larger portion of the cars in the accidents are totaled,” said Sgt. Mike Lowe of the Village of Monticello police. Adding to the crashes is the high volume of traffic, especially during the summer, when tourists and seasonal residents file into the area and merge with visitors to the racino at Monticello Gaming & Raceway, officials said.
The report is based on state 2006-2007 data, the most recent available. The report categorizes the top 5 percent of crash areas based on severity, including number of fatalities, injuries and property damage of more than $1,000. The four Orange County trouble spots on the report this year seem to fall more into the last category, as the majority of accidents occurred at slow speeds around congested intersections.
State police at Monroe, for example, described the accidents around the two spots listed for Route 32 next to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets as “fender benders,” resulting mostly in insurance claims.
What should be noted is that not only are some of these roads challenges to a driver in any type of weather…there are some challenged drivers driving on these roads in the summer. Too many people driving these roads in the summer will not dare drive their car up to the mountains for the summer, they have people drive their car up. These fearful drivers dare to drive these challenged roads because they think the country roads is theirs and they can drive while talking on the phone, kids not belted or on their laps in the front seat. If you dare comment they look at you like you are from a different planet!! So keep on writing these posts and perhaps suggest that summer tenants of the mountains leave their car in the city if they are afraid to drive to the mountains/country.
If the the Village of Monticello or the Town of Tompson would install a regular traffic light at the main entrance/exit of the raceway there could be a significant reduction of accidents and near misses. That has to be one of the worst places in the county and nothing is done to prevent a disaster in the making.