Yakima Police Very Concerned About Local Intersection
Yakima Police say they're concerned about traffic safety at the intersection of 48th Avenue and Washington Avenue after two crashes happened in the area over this week.
The first crash happened on Sunday the second was reported Tuesday
Capt. Jay Seely says the first crash was reported on Sunday when three vehicles collided in the intersection killing one driver and seriously injuring a passenger in the vehicle.
Yakima Police however say the passenger died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Wednesday night.
The second crash was reported Tuesday afternoon when two vehicles crashed at 48th Avenue and Washington Avenue. Police say only minor injuries were reported even though both vehicles were heavily damaged.
Police are talking with the city street division about signage
Seely says Capt. Shawn Boyle with the Yakima Police Department Patrol Division is meeting this week with officials in the city streets division to see what can be done to make the intersection safer for drivers. Seely says it's puzzling because there's nothing that blocks the vision of drivers when stopped at the stop sign on 48th Avenue. He says they may be able to provide some signs near the intersection warning drivers of oncoming traffic. A roundabout could be a possibility but Seely says the city "cannot put up a traffic light because the intersection is in the landing slope of the Yakima Airport."
If you drive to the intersection give yourself lots of time to enter Washington
Capt. Seely says some drivers may not realize how fast the traffic is traveling along Washington Avenue when turning from 48th Avenue. He says it takes about 9 seconds to enter the roadway and into a travel lane when a vehicle leaves the stop sign on 48th Avenue. That means, says Seely that drivers need to give themselves more time to enter the roadway. But he says it's an intersection police are concerned about and hoping to find answers to make the intersection safer in the future.