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RIVERTON — Two crashes at the same intersection in less than 24 hours, one of them claiming the life a young mother, have concerned residents calling for change.
"Knowing that a person lost their life (Saturday), something's got to be done now, not wait for a week of meetings and decide what to do. They need to do it right now," said Annie Fisher, of Riverton, who travels past the intersection at least once a day.
On Saturday, Taylor Zimmerman, 20, of Lehi, was traveling north on Redwood Road when witnesses said she ran a red light at the intersection of Bangerter Highway and was struck by an eastbound vehicle.
Zimmerman's 10-month-old son, who was buckled in a car seat in the back of the vehicle, suffered minor injuries.
The accident was the second at that intersection that day, according to Unified police. The first resulted in minor injuries.
The intersection has been under construction since the summer. The Utah Department of Transportation is reconfiguring the road so Bangerter will go over Redwood — like a bridge — by next summer.
Until then, many people say the traffic pattern is confusing, especially for people who don't travel it every day.
"I've seen the plans, and I know the end result is going to be awesome. But for right now during the construction, they need to do something now because people don't understand where the intersections are stopping," Fisher said. "It's so confusing. People headed north don't know where to stop. … It's a recipe for disaster, certainly."
Knowing that a person lost their life (Saturday), something's got to be done now, not wait for a week of meetings and decide what to do. They need to do it right now.
–Annie Fisher
The accidents "tug at your heartstrings and really make you sick to your stomach," she said, when she drives past them.
"Two major accidents in one day? I've seen four," Fisher said. "How many have happened that we haven't seen?"
On Sunday, UDOT sent flaggers to that intersection to make sure motorists knew where to stop for red lights. Fisher said it was the first time she had seen flaggers there.
"Our first and foremost priority is safety at all times," UDOT spokesman Adan Carrillo said Sunday.
Saturday's fatal accident will be investigated by UDOT, and changes to improve traffic safety will be made based on the findings, Carrillo said. The reason the project is being done in the first place is for safety, he said.
"We believe that it will help us in reducing traffic congestion. It'll help us increase the safety out there. And all in all, it'll just help make our quality of life out there a lot better," Carrillo said.
But many commenters on KSL.com echoed Fisher's sentiments that the current setup at the intersection of Bangerter and Redwood is confusing.
"In the past week, I have been through that intersection three times when there were accidents. The new split traffic pattern through the construction is very confusing for drivers, and the lights don't line up over the lanes. If you are traveling north/south on Redwood, it is not clear at all where you should be stopping when the lights turn red," one person wrote.
Carrillo said the traffic signals at the intersection were scheduled to be moved Sunday night so they would be closer to where motorists actually need to stop.
He encouraged any motorist with a concern to contact UDOT through its webpage or Twitter.
A GoFundMe site was set up Sunday by Zimmerman's family to help raise money for her young son and funeral expenses at www.gofundme.com/taylorzimmerman.
