Personal Injury Law

Traffic Safety is a Go at Corning West High School Intersection

By Jim Reed

WETM-TV recently reported that a much-needed traffic light will be added to a risky intersection in our area. (A copy of the story is pasted below.)

Local officials and the New York State Department of Transportation constantly evaluate ever-changing road conditions and make changes and improvements. But this traffic signal is especially significant because it’s right in front of a busy high school.

Corning West High School, located on East High Road in Painted Post, has about 1,ooo students. Imagine what happens every day, when most of those students arrive and leave at about the same time. As the school’s resource officer, Todd Kimmey, described it, it’s a bottleneck of packed traffic.

As a New York and Pennsylvania personal injury attorney, I make much of my living handling car accident cases. I help families and individuals cope with the consequences of auto accidents. In some instances, a simple improvement to road conditions can improve the safety of an area for everyone.

Well worth the cost

It’s common sense to pay more attention when traffic is busy, and when kids are around. But when you compound the risk with harried parents, teen drivers, and traffic congestion, I applaud the effort to make Corning West High School a safer destination with a new traffic signal.

Traffic lights are not cheap. I’ve seen estimates from $40,000 to $100,000 for complete installation and a period of maintenance. This is a much-needed improvement,  a necessity, and the school district has included the cost in its current budget. The work should be wrapped up in July - in time for students, parents and teachers to have a safer trip to and from school come September.

Thanks for reading,

Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

New Traffic Light at Corning West High

Reported by: Ana Liss
Last Update: 4/23 9:26 pm

PAINTED POST, N.Y. - A dangerous intersection in Painted Post is getting a much-needed traffic light this summer.

Corning West High School Resource Officer Todd Kimmey, who is employed by Painted Post Village Police, says that in the morning and afternoon hours, the intersection in front of Corning West High School, located on East High Road in Painted Post, gets bottlenecked with student and employee traffic.

He says that the New York State Department of Transportation performed a study last year at the request of the school district, and found that a traffic light was badly needed.

“We have seen many accidents [at the intersection],” said Officer Kimmey. “It’s just terrible with the amount of people we have here in the morning. People are not paying attention. The traffic light should help a lot.”

Kimmey says construction crews are expected to begin work on the new traffic light when school lets out at the end of June.

Work should be complete sometime in July.

The Corning-Painted Post School District covered the cost in its current budget.

Share on Facebook

Full post as published by New York Injury Law Blog on April 28, 2009 (boomark / email).