King Hill Avenue rock wall sees recent uptick in crashes
By Riley Funk
A barrier along King Hill Avenue has been the site of some recent rocky crashes.
Sgt. James Tonn of the St. Joseph Police Department said there have been three crashes recently along the area involving the rock wall.
He said the area can be nerve-racking for all drivers, even himself.
“The wall there, rightfully so, it makes people nervous. I know when I’m running lights and sirens through there and someone’s not getting over, and I have to take that lane … you probably need to be extra cautious,” Tonn said.
A crash on April 17 happened when a vehicle traveling west on Springwood Street failed to stop at a stop sign on King Hill Avenue. The vehicle struck another vehicle traveling south as well as the wall.
On April 30, Tonn said witnesses saw a vehicle swerving all over the road prior to hitting the wall. However, there were no specifics as to why the driver was swerving.
Last Friday, Tonn said a driver said she fell asleep and ran off the road and hit the wall.
The city street division said all city roads are held to a standard width.
“The minimum width for street lanes in the city are at 10 feet in width. However it is preferred the width is at least 12 feet. This is a modern standard for more traveled roads such as King Hill Avenue, but older side streets in the city may not meet that standard of width,” the division said in a statement.
Tonn said the road itself is a proper lane and the correct width for cars to travel.
For those traveling along King Hill Avenue, Tonn has some tips in mind for nervous drivers. The first is to stay in the left lane when heading south if possible.
“You can take that left lane to give yourself a little more distance and reaction time away from that wall,” Tonn said.
He said another good thing to do on roads that feel tight such as King Hill is to slow down, put distractions away and place your hands at 10 and two positions on the steering wheel.
As for the rock barrier along the roadway, Tonn said it wouldn’t hurt to look at changes for it, but he doesn’t yet know if it is a good idea.
“Safety is the first thing we look at and everything and keeping patrons safe on the side of the road there, I’m sure that was the reason it was put in (the barrier),” Tonn said. “If we take it out and there’s a crash, well then we’re going to come back to this conversation in the opposite direction.”
