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High volumes of traffic are the main reason some areas in Lawrence have more accidents than others, said David Woosley, traffic engineer for the city of Lawrence.
Iowa Street is one of those high-volume areas that creates a good environment for accidents, Woosley said.
Twenty-eight noninjury accidents have occurred along Iowa Street between January and March, according to police statistics.
No areas in particular had more than one injury accident, said Sgt. Dan Ward, Lawrence Police Department.
In an effort to prevent serious accidents from happening, the Lawrence Police Department has a traffic unit of six police officers and one sergeant, Ward said.
Aggressive enforcement of traffic laws has been the main objective of the unit since its inception in 2002.
It is hoped that the aggressive enforcement will prevent serious accidents from happening, Ward said.
The traffic unit gives out about 800 moving violations per month, Ward said.
Since 2003, seven fatal accidents have occurred in Lawrence, according to police statistics.
Despite a recent fatal accident in front of Cadillac Ranch, 2515 W. Sixth St., major changes by the city aren’t expected to occur.
In the last year, two fatal accidents have occurred on Sixth Street, both near Iowa Street, according to police statistics.
Even though both accidents occurred in the same area, no major changes are expected along the road because the cause of the accidents appears to be driver error, Woosley said.
“In one case, someone pulled out in front of a motorcycle,” he said. “It wasn’t an engineering problem at all.”
Nevertheless, traffic engineers will conduct an investigation into the nature of the accident and determine if anything from an engineering standpoint can be done to prevent future accidents from occurring, Woosley said.
“I wouldn’t think anything major will change,” he said. “If we see the same type of accident occur multiple times in an area, then we look at a change.”
Drivers not paying attention is the main cause for most accidents in Lawrence, not engineering, Woosley said.
“But that’s not particular to Lawrence; that’s pretty much true anywhere,” he said.
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