BILLINGS— A fatal West End crash on Monday is adding to a push for more traffic control in Billings.
Related: Authorities release name of Billings woman killed in West End crash
Sixty-seven-year-old Danette Jane Hill was killed in a two-vehicle crash Monday evening at the intersection of South 36th Street West and Monad Road.
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The crash was reported at 6:16 p.m. and remains under investigation. One other person was taken to a local hospital, according to police.
Hill’s death is bringing more attention to traffic safety.
“It's just a risk that we shouldn't have to deal with,” said Billings City Council member Mark Nicholson, who has been advocating to lower the city’s traffic fatality rate.
Nicholson said Billings has approximately 12 traffic fatalities every year.
“If that were happening at the airport, we'd be all over that… it shouldn't be any more acceptable that we're doing that on our city streets,” said Nicholson. “Fatality is a tragedy. Being seriously injured is a tragedy.”
“We don't want to see any fatality happen on any of the streets in the city of Billings,” Interim City Administrator Kevin Iffland said.
The city did a traffic study at South 36th Street West and Monad Road in January, finding it was eligible for curb extenders or a mini roundabout. The study happened after several nearby residents voiced concerns about frequent crashes there.
Related: 'Ridiculous': Neighbors lament another crash at Billings West End intersection
Iffland said the recent fatality could speed up getting those safety measures put in.
“It's obviously on engineering's desk,” he said.
He said the city is also considering safety measures for Shiloh Road and 24th Street West.
Iffland showed MTN a map of traffic crashes Thursday, called the Fatal and Serious Injury Dashboard. The map pinpoints crashes in the city, helping to narrow down where more safety measures are needed.
“They can set the date range; they can set what kind of crashes are they looking for and then this will break it down,” said Iffland.
The map also has charts showing which vehicles are most prone to accidents.
“One of the things that's kind of standing out in the data is motorcycles are only accounting for about 1% of the accidents, but we're at about 43% for either incapacitating or fatalities with motorcycles,” said Iffland.
The map is still under development and only accessible to city officials but will soon be made public.
