A Kingsville businessman is calling for improvements to a busy intersection.
After more than a dozen accidents at Arner Townline and County Road 20 since Gabe Saad began operating the Arner Stop, he fears something tragic is on the horizon.
“The fears are there, someone could get killed pumping gas,” says Saad.
Saad has operated the Arner Stop for the last 11 years. In that time, he says he's witnessed 15 accidents, three this month alone.
On June 6, two cars collided. The next day, a very similar accident occurred and then, this past Monday there was another crash with remnants still evident at the scene.
He says it's a combination of problems.
“Slow cars meeting fast cars, people making wrong decisions, mis-judging, not knowing how fast vehicles are travelling, but definitely it’s slow meeting fast.”
Saad says the most serious accident here occurred in 2007, when two vehicles collided, then slid off the street and onto his property. One of the vehicles slammed into a gas pump.
“My one worker was pumping gas and the car that came around side, completely missed the van by inches,” says Saad.
Saad says the traffic needs to be slowed down. He'd like to see a traffic light put up at the intersection.
The County says it closely monitors accident frequency on all of its roadways. If there appears to be a problem in a certain area, it gets flagged. But as of right now, county officials say this intersection doesn't appear to be a problem.
After that major accident in 2007, large stop signs were put up to replace the smaller ones. Motorists believe that's helped the problem a bit, but they say that's not the solution.
