Dangerous crossroads

For the thousands of people who enter campus each day from Sweet Home Road, the intersection at Rensch Entrance is an accident waiting to happen.

Since January 2001, there have been 50 reported accidents at the intersection.

Help is on the way, however, according to local officials; a state construction project is currently planned to redesign the intersection.

Enzio Villalta, a captain in the Amherst Police Department, said there have already been four accidents at the intersection this year and 15 in both 2003 and 2004.

Physics professor Richard Gonsalves, who lives near the intersection and often walks to work, has seen the problem firsthand.

"That intersection continues to be the scene of numerous accidents, the most recent a couple of weeks ago in the evening," Gonsalves said. "The problem is that cars southbound try to left turn onto campus, and cars northbound either don't see them, or turn right so fast that they move into the second lane.

Gonsalves said he's noticed the traffic increase since UB built on-campus apartments and graduate student housing at Flickinger Court. Traffic will increase even more, he said, when University Village at Sweethome is completed.

Kristina Diman, a junior business administration major, drives through the intersection on her daily route to school and said she's witnessed many accidents there.

"I have seen two accidents at that intersection this year alone," she said. "One of them involved a car that was on fire."

"It takes a long time to make a left turn there," Diman added. "The light usually has to go through two or three cycles before I can go."

In Gonsalves' opinion, making the intersection safe wouldn't take much.

"All it takes to fix this problem is a left turn light on the southbound lane," he said. "I don't understand why this has not been done."

Under a plan by the New York State Department of Transportation, construction to improve the intersection will begin in summer 2006.

According to Villalta, the plan calls for Rensch Road to be widened on the west side to three lanes and to widen part of Sweet Home to five lanes with a raised median.

"I imagine there will be improvements to the traffic signal, along with improving the markings on the UB side of Rensch to better indicate lane movements," he said.

John Grela, the director of public safety at UB, said he agrees something needs to be done, but both he and UB have little input because the intersection belongs to the Town of Amherst.

Until construction begins, the intersection will remain an accident trap for UB community members who regularly enter and leave UB from Rensch Road.

Judy Marquardt, a secretary in the office of the vice president for Student Affairs, said she recently witnessed an accident there.

"The accident happened around lunchtime and I called Public Safety to report it," she said. "It looked like three cars were involved."

Marquardt said she was surprised no one was stopping to help the people in the accident because it was around lunchtime and many people were around.

"That area is dangerous because you don't know who is coming from where," she said. "There are also large mounds of snow that block the vision of someone who is trying to make a turn there."

Susan Surdej, public information officer and regional director of the New York State Department of Transportation, said she believes the improvements will be good for the entire community.

According to Surdej, Sweet Home Road will be reconstructed from the Rensch intersection all the way to Maple Road. There will also be work done from Rensch Road to Skinnersville Road, and the Interstate 990 ramp is scheduled for repaving.

Surdej added other projects related to the area include new bicycle lanes, curbs, sidewalks and a closed drainage system.

"The changes will improve access and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists," she said.