Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the intersection of Highway 119 and Main Street has a 1.94 crash rate index — the highest for Longmont intersections with traffic of more than 25,000 vehicles a day.

Just after 7:30 a.m. on a September day last year, a girl on her way to class at Skyline High School stepped off the curb at Mountain View Avenue and Alpine Street.

A car approaching didn’t stop , crashing into her. The teen sustained skeletal injuries and was hospitalized.

She survived the crash, but it was one of many that took place at the intersection.

Tyler Stamey, the the city’s transportation engineering administrator, said Longmont has sought to take strides in improving the city’s most dangerous intersections, like the one mentioned above. A high crash summary and safety study were among the tools for analyzing the notorious intersections.

“We wanted to look at those closer to determine appropriate corrective action to mitigate the safety problems,” Stamey said.

Among the data highlighted in a High Crash Location Summary, which looked at crashes and trends from 2013 to 2017, are fatal crash averages. Longmont, which has a population of about 94,341, has an average of 4.2 fatal crashes per year based on 2013 to 2017 data. By comparison, Boulder, which has a population of about 107,125 has an average of 1.4.

As Longmont’s population grows and more commuters use roads and crosswalks, the study and data illuminate a need for safety improvements, but also show crash factors that should call on drivers, pedestrians and cyclist to pay attention to the road ahead.

Study highlights problem intersections

In an effort to determine solutions and look at potential crash factors, Stamey said the city commissioned an approximately $52,000 study to provide recommendations for improving non-signalized, high-crash intersections. Lakewood-based Muller Engineering Co. and Denver-based Apex Design were hired to evaluate the intersections, which were selected based on the High-Crash Location Summary data. The following intersections were identified for evaluation, based on more data that was gathered from 2013 to 2018 are noted.

Mountain View Avenue and Alpine Street, 45 crashes

21st Avenue and Terry Street, 31 crashes

Mountain View Avenue and Collyer Street, 31 crashes

Second Avenue and Pratt Street , 28 crashes

Emery Street / Jersey Avenue and Main Street, 26 crashes

Ninth Avenue and Martin Street, 26 crashes

Airport Road and 17th Avenue / Hygiene Road, 24 crashes

Clover Basin Drive and Fordham Street, 23 crashes

15th Avenue and Collyer Street, 22 crashes

Third Avenue and Alpine Street, 17 crashes

Using the data collected , the consulting firms proposed both short- and long-term solutions for the city to implement, which ranged from removing visual hazards like shrubbery to installing a traffic light at some of the locations.

As for the High Crash Location Summary for 2013 to 2017, the city also identified high-crash signalized intersections. The intersections were given a composite crash index and those that scored higher than 1 were recognized as high crash.

The intersections were broken down by class, based on the volume of traffic.

The top three with the highest score for intersections with more than 25,000 vehicles a day:

Colo. 119 and Main Street — crash rate index of 1.94

Hover Street and Colo. 119 — crash rate index of 1.69

Hover Street and Nelson Road — crash rate index of 1.56

For less than 25,000 vehicles a day:

Ninth Avenue and Francis Streets — crash rate index of 1.8

Ninth Avenue and County Line Road — crash rate index 1.65

Second Avenue and Terry Street and Pratt Parkway — crash rate index 1.35

With the recommendations in hand, Stamey said the consulting firms’ analysis has helped to provide a sense of direction for improvements.

“My goal is to implement as many as these recommendations as we can and continue to evaluate them for effectiveness,” Stamey said. “Hopefully, we are putting in good solutions that are solving the problem. It can take several years of data to study that effect.”

Changes also are in the works at a number signalized intersections identified as high crash in the city’s summary report.

At Colo. 119 and Hover Street, which received a 1.69 composite rate index, the second highest score for intersections with more than 25,000 vehicles, Stamey said the city has been working to evaluate safety solutions through the Southwest Longmont Traffic Operations study.

Overall, the study examines a triangle network of problem intersections, which include Ken Pratt Boulevard, Hover Street and Nelson Road. On May 28, city council showed support, but has not yet approved, final recommendations determined through the study. The next step, Stamey said, is furthering design work and funding.

The study is one of several improvement projects the city is working on to make roads safer. Several of those projects have been completed, such as a 2015 effort to create a protected left turn for northbound Main Street onto Pike Roadand the 2018 installation of a traffic light at Ninth Avenue and Deerwood Drive.

Fatal crash numbers

The results of Longmont’s data and safety study comes at a time when fatal accidents continue to spark tragedy across the state and nation. In 2018, more than 40,000 people died in fatal crashes, according to data collected by the National Safety Council.

Fatal crash numbers in Longmont spiked from 2016 to 2017, which saw eight fatal crash deaths, compared to two. This year, so far, there have been seven, according to Longmont police Sgt. Eric Lewis, who works in the department’s Special Operations Division Traffic Unit.

Stamey said Longmont’s fatal crash average per year of 4.2, which is larger than Boulder’s 1.4 average, indicates room for safety improvements. He did note that Longmont is at the middle of the bench compared to other cities of similar size. For example, Greeley, which has a population of 105,448, has an average of 7.2 fatal crashes per year, according to city data.

While improving intersections without a signal has been touted as one solution , both Lewis and Stamey said there are other factors that contribute to traffic crashes. Some, like winter weather, are out of drivers’ control. On average Longmont has between five and six crashes a day. On snowy and icy days, however, there can be upward of 20 crashes.

Distracted driving, though, is a habit Lewis noted travelers can control and should make an effort to curb.

While cell phones continues to be the No. 1 distraction, Lewis identified others, like fiddling with the radio or climate control, as well as passengers. Lewis said a “large majority” of Longmont traffic crashes involve being rear-ended, which could be a sign people are not giving the road ahead enough attention.

The number of distracted driving crashes has risen since 2012, which saw 191 such crashes. In 2017, 350 crashes were the result of distracted driving.

With Longmont’s population growing from 90,219 to 96,192 from 2012 to 2018 , Lewis said police hope to bring awareness to distracted driving issues. Overall, he said police just want people to reach their destinations safely.

“Driving is a huge responsibility and people should take it seriously,” Lewis said.

The message, he said, does not just extend to drivers. He called on pedestrians and cyclists to make sure they’re not fiddling with their phones while they trying to cross an intersection or navigate a roadway.

Cyclists share concerns

Stamey noted the number of bicyclists traversing Longmont’s roads has increased in years past. He said data from the high crash summary indicates a need to be more cautious in order to protect cyclists.

One Longmont cyclist and transportation advocate echoed the sentiment.

On a spring day last year, Devin Quince was riding his bike on Longs Peak Avenue approaching Terry Street when a car traveling toward Roosevelt Park attempted to beat him across the intersection.

“I just hit the brakes enough to not hit them and gave them a look like ‘really? What was that all about?’” Quince said. “They looked right through me.”

As a cyclist, Quince said he feels there are many concerns when it comes to crossing intersections safely and riding in general. In 2017, Longmont saw an increase in the number of bicycle crashes, with 45 incidents reported. From 1990 to 2017, there have been five fatal bicycle crashes, city data showed.

Quince refers to himself as a transportation advocate. He is regular presence at city meetings and apt to share ideas for safety improvement for cyclists.

“I’m always in communication with planners at the city,” Quince said. “(I’m) going to all those meetings and providing input from the silent crew … the people walking and riding.”

Quince believes two of the biggest factors making intersections unsafe for cyclists are speed and design. Quince said crosswalks that are “large and unprotected” pose safety challenges, such as those at Hover and Nelson streets, Colo. 119 and Hover Street and Main Street and Ken Pratt.

“Any intersection downtown which is supposed to be walking friendly has intersections on Main that are 60 feet to cross with sweeping right turns that do not require drivers to slow down in order to turn,” Quince said.

For Quince, a major component in keepingcyclists, pedestrians and drivers safe is ultimately a little compassion.

“We are all both responsible for obeying the rules and guilty for not obeying the rules,” he said. “When you see someone riding, realize that that is someone’s husband, wife, nephew, son, or father. It’s not an arrogant person getting in your way — they’re just traffic just like you.”

Working on improvements

The city is working to prepare a high-crash summary for the years 2014 to 2018. This data will be presented to the Transportation Advisory Board.

On the horizon, he noted that residents should see improvements, using the consulting firm’s recommendations.

At Mountain View Avenue and Alpine Street, a plan to install a traffic light by 2020 is pending city budget approval.

In the years ahead, Stamey said the city hopes to continue to monitor the intersections and make improvements where needed.

“I think we need to stay on top of our program of evaluating where crashes are happening,” he said, “and have a strategy for addressing crash issues and get ahead of them.”