City Council seeking a safer intersection

April 12, 2012

COLUMBIA CITY — Columbia City’s Common Council is taking a hard look at the accident issue occurring at the intersection of U.S. 30 and W. Lincolnway in Columbia City.

Councilman Bill Simpson raised the topic and reported having received several recent complaints about the intersection.

“Several people have come to talk to me and they feel it is dangerous crossing the intersection coming onto U.S. 30,” Simpson said.

Mayor Ryan Daniel said he grew up near the intersection and was familiar with the sound of “crashing metal.”

“I definitely think we need to get the information together,” said Daniel. “That is another entrance to our city and it has been dangerous over the years.”

Simpson explained that it is a state intersection, and that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) may be a useful resource in better understanding the concepts behind the intersection.

Columbia City Police Chief Tim Longenbaugh said all accidents are logged with the state, and it should be able to access not just the information for the intersection in question, but also accident information for other intersections in the city for comparative reasons.

Longenbaugh said since 2007, 27 accidents have occurred at the intersection, with 23 causing property damage and four being personal injury accidents.

Three injury accidents occurred in 2011, the city’s lowest number in that timeframe. The year 2009 marked the highest, with seven.