The Police Commission has scheduled a special meeting for next week to discuss the traffic safety issues that exist at the flagpole intersection of Main Street, Church Hill Road, and West Street. The Police Commission is the local traffic authority.

The meeting is slated for 7 pm on Tuesday, March 24, at Town Hall South at 3 Main Street.

Police Commission members have been reviewing traffic data which indicate that during a six-year period, representing calendar years 2009 through 2014 inclusive, there were 94 reported traffic accidents in the area of the five-legged flagpole intersection.

Of those 94 incidents, 17 accidents produced injuries, and 18 accidents involved vehicles colliding with the 100-foot-tall flagpole itself, which is not shielded by barriers. Two of the vehicular accidents involved pedestrians.

Among those six calendar years, the number of accidents in a given year ranged from a low of 11 accidents during 2014 to a high of 24 accidents during 2013.

The state laws that which were most commonly violated when those 94 accidents occurred included: failure to grant the right of way from a stop sign, failure to drive a reasonable distance apart, failure to grant the right of way at an intersection, illegal passing on the right, making a restricted turn, and making an improper turn, according to the traffic report prepared by police.

Among those violations, the most common violations were failure to grant the right of way from a stop sign with 25 instances of that violation, and failure to drive a reasonable distance apart with 22 instances.

In 2013, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) conducted a traffic count near the flagpole intersection. That study showed that the average daily traffic flow on Main Street just north of the flagpole was 18,100 vehicles; on Main Street just south of the flagpole was 14,200 vehicles; on Church Hill Road just east of the flagpole was 9,300 vehicles, and on West Street just west of the flagpole was 1,200 vehicles.

The state has jurisdiction over Main Street and Church Hill Road, both of which are state roads. West Street is a town road.

Police Commission members have publicly discussed the flagpole intersection traffic issues several times since December.