City officials hope to have final plans together for redesigning the intersection of Parkside and Florence by the end of next month, with a contractor to be selected by the end of October. Officials provided an update on the project to neighbors Wednesday night. Parkside Community Association Traffic Committee Chairman Michael DeLuca says studies indicate there are three times as many accidents at the intersection, noting the street design is flawed as vehicles exit the nearby Scajaquada Expressway into North Buffalo.
"The accidents happen all year. The challenge with that intersection is that the curve is the wrong way. It's a reverse curve, a blind curve. Plus the angle of the road pitches the cars toward each other. So even if you're not a bad driver, your car just starts going toward other cars," said DeLuca.
Parkside Community Association Executive Director Amber Small says the group has been pushing for changes for decades.
"In the 70s, people advocated for a stoplight at that intersection. This has been a deadly area for us for years," Small said.
The Association is pushing the city to make improvements immediately. The city was awarded $450,000 in federal funding last year to improve safety at the intersection.
Officials hope to have a final design of the project completed by the end of August.
