PHOENIX — The number of collisions have gone down on some West Valley streets in the last year.
But, the number of pedestrians hit are on the rise, which is a problem most cities are dealing with.
In order to help curb all collisions, the Glendale Police Department received a $25,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to conduct their Selective Traffic Enforcement Program or STEP.
The department has created a list of intersections they are focusing on. With previous accident data, officers have tracked the date, time, exact location of accidents.
They then target intersections that have seen higher amounts of incidents to see if their presence can stop history from repeating itself.
"We try to convey that we need to slow down and be safe when we're driving," Glendale Motorcycle Traffic Officer Kris Johnston.
Speed is often a factor in deadly collisions with at least 20 people, drivers and pedestrians, killed in the city in 2018.
"If we focus on a certain intersection, we do see a decrease in traffic collisions," Officer Johnston.
Officer Johnston has been on the force for 15 years and he said the progress is good, but he wishes drivers would stick to making safer decisions.
"We can be in an area and focus it pretty hard... people will slow down and then we'll focus on another intersection and of course, people will go back to their bad driving habits and start speeding again," Officer Johnston explained.
In an email, Glendale Police Sgt. Jon Roth explained the targeted intersections:
The below intersections are based on the STEP grant and are not specific to pedestrians. It sounds like pedestrian locations are more of an evolving enforcement based on current trends and does not have a specific list generated.
- 5900 W. Olive Av
- 5900 W. Bethany Home Rd
- 5100 W. Northern Av
- 5900 W. Bell Rd
- 5100 W. Olive Av
- 8300 W. Bell Rd
- 5900 W. Thunderbird Av
- 5900 W. Camelback Rd
- 6700 W. Olive Av
- 6700 W. Bethany Home Rd
These addresses were for 2018 and will soon be changing for 2019 once the stats are reviewed and we adjust based on need.
