BILLINGS— The intersection at South 36th Street West and Monad Road will be undergoing research in January after residents complained about frequent traffic crashes.
The intersection, which is a two-way stop, had nine confirmed crashes this year, according to Billings Police Department.
See crashes at the intersection:
Billings City Council member Mike Boyett said Tuesday afternoon that the city’s Public Works department will research logistics of the intersection, such as how fast people are driving, how many vehicles are going through and what traffic looks like during different parts of the day.
Related: 'Ridiculous': Neighbors lament another crash at Billings West End intersection
“Obviously, the easy answer is put a stop light or something like that. But the traffic department wants to know what the real problem is,” he said.
According to Boyett, half of the crashes happen on a Sunday, and many are T-bone collisions.
“I'll bet you more people go above the speed limit than below the speed limit on Monad. It's a nice straight open street with no restrictions and you just keep on going. So, we need to do something. There's no question. And I think something will happen one way or the other,” said Boyett.
The decision to research the intersection follows multiple complaints from nearby residents.
One resident who spoke up, Jay Ettleman, has lived near the area for 30 years. He said he has been sharing concerns about the intersection for 20 of those years.
“Every home that lines Monad down here, they've been screaming for something to get done because we're tired of hearing a big bang,” said Ettleman.
He said he counted more than the nine confirmed crashes at the intersection this year.
“I recollect 15 accidents since the first of the year,” he said.
The most recent crash at the intersection happened on Dec. 20. Even though none of the crashes have resulted in a fatality, Ettleman worries the next one will.
“Not one of them have been a fender bender. Every one of them have been total jobs, where debris is scattered all over the street. You've had to have fire trucks, ambulances and everything come out to this intersection, because people don't honor the stop sign and the people are speeding down Monad,” he said.
“There's going to be a death here,” he added.
Ettleman also worries about cars stopping for pedestrians at the intersection’s crosswalks.
“I almost got hit by a car because I was in a crosswalk,” he said.
The city recently put larger stop signs at the two-way stop with signs saying “cross traffic does not stop” underneath, but Ettleman wants to see more traffic control.
“I don't want to see a kid get killed, because people don't even stop at when you see pedestrians in the crosswalk,” he said.
