CHANDLER, AZ — There have been over 16,000 crashes on Chandler roads over the last five years. That is just part of the data that is being collected and used in a city-wide traffic study that aims to make roads safer for everyone.
The "Roadway Safety Action Plan" is a federally funded study.
"The goal here is to reduce the likelihood and severity of serious crashes," said Raymound Huang, traffic engineer for the city of Chandler.
Data from the last five years shows 356 serious injury crashes and 74 fatal.
16 intersections and 29 roadways were flagged as the spots where those crashes were most concentrated.
At the top of that list: Price Road and Queen Creek Road, and Pecos Road and Arizona Avenue.
Together, they make up what's called the High Injury Network.
"It does not automatically mean these are the streets that has safety issues, it is just a tool for us to screen so we can look closer," Huang said.
Right now they are looking at the number of crashes. Next, they'll dig into the factors behind them, including how many people use each road.
"We will look at the feedback that we get from the community, we will look at the crash data, the high risk network, kind of looking at all of that, holistically and then that will help to drive what some recommendations could be coming out of this study," said Jason Crampton, transportation planning manager for the city of Chandler.
As the study continues, Chandler reporter Molly Hudson talked to people about driving in Chandler.
"People run so many red lights out here in Chandler right now that my wife and I we both have a rule, when the light turns green, you count to two before you go because you don't know who is coming," said Joshua Dollison, a Chandler neighbor.
"Chandler definitely has the nicest roads in most of the Phoenix area, I feel safe around here," said Luis Lugo, who drives all over the valley.
Neighbors in the 'Your Chandler News' Facebook group weighed in too. One gave Chandler roads an A-minus for safety. Others raised concerns about driver behavior and a need for more education on the rules of the road.
Next up: public outreach. The city will launch a survey next week, asking the community what they've experienced on the roads and what they want to see change.
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