Police Work To Reduce Accidents at Canton Intersection

CANTON, GA -- The Canton Police Department is monitoring a major intersection to see if a change in how motorists merge onto Marietta Highway will reduce the number of accidents reported to the agency.

The right-turn lane from the Canton Bypass near Williamson Bros. BBQ has been re-striped to help northbound-traveling drivers safely merge onto Marietta Highway, the agency said Tuesday.

Canton Police Chief Mark Mitchell said officers have responded to "many accidents" at the intersection of the past year. The location, he added, is consistently among the top locations where collisions occur in any given month.

From Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2016, there were 69 accidents reported at this particular intersection, the chief stated.

Fortunately, the majority of these motor vehicle accidents have been minor crashes, with "contributing factors being following too closely or failure to yield when entering a roadway," Mitchell added.

Canton police presented preliminary data to the Georgia Department of Transportation, which it does on a monthly basis, and GDOT stated roadway changes were necessary to "decrease and alleviate the amount of vehicle accidents that occur."

"We will, of course, continue to collect crash data in order to see if the changes have made a difference in the coming months," he added.

Tell us: what do you think of the re-striping? What other intersections the city of Canton should address?

Image via Canton Police Department