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About a dozen times a year, neighbors hear the loud, familiar sound of a car crash and gather at the corner of 15th and Julian to see if they can give assistance to the latest victims. It's often just property damage but we've seen people rushed to the hospital and some people even dead on the street.
There are probably multiple reasons why this intersection is so dangerous. Visibility is terrible, 15th Street is abnormally wide, and this stretch of Julian is the longest distance without a stop sign or a traffic light.
It's been a mystery to us why a four way stop or a traffic light has yet to be installed.
Perhaps many of the accidents that occur here are not entered into the city database. Sometimes those involved in the car crashes don't call police because they lack a driver's license or insurance. And sometimes 911 is called but no officer comes to the scene to make a report.
Some--not all--of the accidents have been documented by residents on the JJNA email list. Here is some of that documentation.
Feb 7, 2014
"There was a crash at the corner of 15th and Julian today.
Does anybody have any details?"
-- from the JJNA email list
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March 29, 2014
"As I was planting basil in my front yard, I heard the familiar screech of tires.
I looked at the intersection of 15th and Julian and I saw a westbound car crash into a southbound car.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt but the cars were badly damaged.
I took out my iPhone and started taking pictures. A neighbor remarked that my photo album must be getting rather large. Yes, it is.
When no cars are parked on Julian blocking the view and when everybody is observing the speed limit, there is nothing hazardous about the corner. The problem is, the conditions are not met often enough.
If an SUV is parked near the corner on Julian and if a car is exceeding the speed limit by 5 mph, there's a point at which it is virtually impossible to avoid a collision.
Even though I'm extremely careful, I've had numerous near misses.
I've been meaning to petition the city about putting in a four way stop for some time now. I keep putting it off.
Today was another reminder that inaction can be dangerous."
-- from the JJNA email list
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August 17, 2014
"For those of us who are keeping count, there was another car crash at 15th and Julian tonight.
Until we get a stop sign or a traffic light, be extra careful when entering that intersection."
-- from the JJNA email list
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September 30, 2014
ANOTHER accident there just now. Stop sign, anyone? Traffic light?
Thank you. I was just driving through. I should have stopped to take pics. There was at least two cars -- and I swear it looked like maybe one of the cars might have been a police car? -- and at least one fire engine and on ambulance. One lane for a while. But that is all I know. I had to go. Sorry I can't help more.
Carrie Doolittle
Terrace Dr.
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October 3, 2014
"Three people were rushed to the hospital. The week before that, there was another crash.
Tonight there’s another multi-car accident at 15th and Julian.
Lots of people on the corner now yelling at each other.
Sheesh, that sure is one dangerous corner.
There are a lot of emergency vehicles on the scene now and the intersection is blocked.
Somebody told me there were three injuries, all children. They were taken to the hospital by ambulance.
There appear to be more injured parties at the scene who haven’t yet received medical attention. There’s a woman holding her shoulder in pain.
Two neighbors have told me that they believe this corner, which was always bad, has become worse ever since it became a two-way.
That is my experience too.
This area on Julian is the longest stretch that doesn’t have a stop light or a stop sign. As a result, drivers naturally tend to accelerate.
There really, really needs to be a stop sign or a light at this corner.
It’s way overdue."
-- from the JJNA email list
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November 3, 2014
"I can't tell you how many times over the years I've been in my house and suddenly heard screeching tires, a crash, and screams.
This afternoon, a white car jumped the sidewalk and smashed into the corner market."
-- from the JJNA email list
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January 18, 2015
"I too bemoan how dangerous this corner is. It is incredibly difficult to see the oncoming traffic on Julian St. at this corner. I was struck by another car in the intersection on the morning of 01/18/15 as I attempted to cross the intersection. I literally could not see them coming and am so glad to not have been hurt, but suffered the total loss of my vehicle. Let me add my voice to those raised for a stop sign on Julian!"
Sincerely yours,
Brian Hamilton
231 N. 15th St.
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February 3, 2015
"And at 3:20 PM today, there was yet another car accident on the corner of 15th and Julian due to the fact that we do not have 4-way stop."
-- from the JJNA email list
Apparently due to the poor visibility, a vehicle entered the intersection at the wrong moment which caused a car on Julian to veer out of the way and collide with a pole.
The driver of the crashed car, Eileen Garcia, called 911 but they did not send an officer to the scene.
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Unknown date but within the last year, a bus struck a child.
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School children have a difficult time crossing the street at this interestion.
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Stop Signs and Lights on Julian
Market St. Traffic Light
1st St. Traffic Light
2nd St. Traffic Light
3rd St. Traffic Light
4th St. Traffic Light
5th St. Traffic Light
6th St. Stop Sign
7th St. Traffic Light
8th St.
9th St. Stop Sign
10th St. Traffic Light
11th St. Traffic Light
12th St.
13th St. Traffic Light
14th St.
15th St.
16th St.
17th St. Traffic Light
18th St.
19th St. Traffic Light
20th St.
21st. St Traffic Light
22nd St. Traffic Light
24th St. Traffic Light
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* 15th is the only broad street that lacks a stop sign.
* 15th is the only street where there are no stop signs or lights on the next street over. It is the middle of the longest stretch of uninterrupted traffic.
* 15th has businesses on two corners. No other 4-way corner with without a stop sign or light has any businesses.
* Liquor store patrons and beer trucks park in the red zones and decrease the limited visibility.
* 15th has two bus stops. When a bus is present, it makes the corner completely blind.
* The red zones for the two bus stops make the street appear wider which causes more speeding.
* Accidents range from two a month to two a week. The majority of the accidents are not entered into the city database.
* If a regular size car is parked on the corner, it can make a left hand turn challenging, but If an SUV is parked on the corner and an oncoming car is exceeding the speed limit by just 5 miles per hour, it can make a collision unavoidable.
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"We had the exact same issue one block away at 15th and St. James and a long series of accidents. My neighbors and I frequently met each other offering first aid to accident victims at that corner. These issues disappeared when we went from a 2 way to a 4 way stop.
With everyone stopping, you don't need as long a sight line to safely enter the intersection. Also people running a stop sign are the extreme outlier, but even so, they generally slow before running the stop sign, again giving time for everyone to see each other.
With Julian traffic crossing 15th at 30 to 50 miles an hour (and up) and with a few SUVs or beer trucks blocking sight lines in both directions, crossing Julian today is really frightening. My wife and talk about strategies to survive that intersection including waiting longer than usual and looking through gaps in cars to make sure no unseen cars are coming. Edging out slowly can help, but even then by the time you see that there was another car coming you are then in harm's way.
A 4 way stop would definitely solve this problem. In addition it will help with the other type of accident that I've personally witnessed involving inattentive drivers assuming it's 4 way, pausing briefly and lurching out in front of oncoming traffic."
--Joe Pambianco, N. 15th St.
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"I live on the block between St James and Julian. In teaching my sun to drive this year, I instructed him to avoid this intersection altogether and go the long-way around the block. I have altered my own routes to avoid it.
I agree that a 4-way stop would be the best solution and should have been done a long time ago as a pair along with the one at St James. I've never understood how the accident count could have been too low (as we were told by the traffic folks back then. "
-- Jennie Larson, 15th St.
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The contact person for this website is Robert Wright.
His email address is RobtWright at gmail dot com.
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