GREENFIELD — Traffic flow near one of the county’s busiest intersections has gotten better since a stoplight along State Road 9 was damaged in a car accident and knocked out of commission, officials say. Now, the state’s transportation department has decided not to replace the signal in the hope that traffic safety will continue to improve there.
A traffic signal at the intersection of State Road 9 and North Street in downtown Greenfield will not be repaired, the Indiana Department of Transportation announced recently.
A crash in mid-January damaged the light, and INDOT and city officials have been working to determine if a replacement was necessary. After nearly three months of mulling, the state agency decided not to replace the light and to keep the intersection as it is currently, with traffic on North Street being controlled by a set of stop signs while traffic on State Road 9 moves uninterrupted.
Because State Road 9 is a state highway, it was ultimately INDOT’s decision on whether or not to replace the light. After taking time to evaluate, the agency determined the traffic flow and safety were actually improved by the removal of the stoplights, according to LaMar Holliday, a spokesman for INDOT.
The intersection is located just north of U.S. 40, making it one of the busiest junctions in city limits.
Tyler Rankins, Greenfield’s street commissioner, said he was originally hesitant about taking the stoplight down permanently. People were used to having a light there, and he was concerned about making it difficult for drivers to turn onto State Road 9 from North Street.
“I told them (INDOT) they were going to have to convince me as to why taking it down is a good idea,” Rankins said. “And the data they showed made me more comfortable with the decision.”
For years, the stretch of State Road 9 running through the heart of Greenfield has been a congestion problem, especially at the intersection of State Road 9 and U.S. 40. Some 12,000 vehicles — including semitrailers — travel near the intersection daily, INDOT traffic counts show. Comparatively, about 23,000 travel State Road 9 near its intersection with New Road.
Without the light at State Road 9 and North Street, congestion improved, though there are now longer wait times for drivers trying to turn left onto State Road 9 from North Street, said Jason Cook, a city engineer. Those most inconvenienced by the change are North Street drivers traveling east and trying to turn left onto State Road 9 to head towards Interstate 70, he said.
“INDOT said based on their model, the longest someone would have to wait there is 45 seconds,” Cook said. “That feels like an eternity when you’re in the car, but that’s their worst case scenario.”
The damaged stoplights are currently being covered by black tarps, but they will be taken down in the next month, Holliday said in a release.
Residents have called the city inquiring about the status of the light, and opinions have been pretty evenly split between people in favor of the light being gone and those against, Rankins said.
In conjunction with the decision to remove the North Street stoplights, INDOT also said it would continue to monitor the U.S. 40 intersection and make a determination at a later date on how to best deal with the congestion that intersection sees.
“We’ve asked INDOT in the past about adding left turn arrows to that intersection,” Rankins said. “And they’ve promised to take a look at it now that the North Street light is gone.”
