NEWFANE — In response to a number of residents' requests to employ traffic-calming measures, the Selectboard analyzed car-crash data from the last 20 months on some of Newfane's heavily traveled roads. They also looked at injury rates from these accidents.
Board member Carol Hatcher found the data on the Vermont Agency of Transportation's [AOT] Public Crash Data Query Tool, http://apps.vtrans.vermont.gov/CrashPublicQueryTool. She shared her findings at the Sept. 21 regular Selectboard meeting.
Hatcher said the data shows Route 30 had the most accidents: 16 in the last 20 months, and five of them resulted in injuries to the driver or passengers.
Dover Road came in second place with five accidents, no injuries.
Wardsboro Road had four accidents and no injuries.
Grimes Hill Road was of special concern to Hatcher. She noted this road, which has many areas of poor visibility, is the subject of frequent complaints to the board about cars careening down the hill.
Although there have been only three accidents reported on the road, “every single crash in the past 20 months on Grimes Hill has involved an injury” to drivers or passengers, Hatcher stressed.
Her plan is for the Selectboard to monitor crash data on Newfane's roads “every three months."
Hatcher told her colleagues this information will “help us do a better job” implementing traffic-calming programs.