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Fourth worst intersection: First and North
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Updated: June 4, 2012 11:01AM
A steady stream of cars came down Strieby Drive to gain access to Costco’s parking lot to shop Monday morning, avoiding the main intersection.
That’s because the intersection of First Avenue and North Avenue in Melrose Park is one of the 20 worst intersections based on the number of crashes in 2010, according to Illinois Department of Transportation.
That’s the intersection most Costco customers use to get to the store, but some have found an alternate route to avoid that intersection.
Carol Toplack of Melrose Park said she’d rather go to Fifth Avenue and then get on to Strieby Drive, which is north of North Avenue, and access the store from the back.
“People don’t obey the lights and turns,” she said. “I know that is a bad intersection.”
People don’t know how to make a left hand turn,” said Leonard Timpone, 69, of Melrose Park. “It gets bad on First Avenue so I take Fifth, it even gets bad on Thatcher Avenue.”
He said there too much congestion at the intersection and it does not seem to ever let up.
“It’s terrible all of the time,” he said. “It’s like the ‘Strangler’ on the expressway.”
Shem Foster, 40, of Forest Park works in the area and said he doesn’t think it’s that bad. “I’ve seen worse,” he said.
He does admit the traffic lights at the intersection stay green or red for a long time.
James Mitchell of Bellwood said there are good drivers and bad drivers and unfortunately bad drivers are the problem at the intersection.
“If you have no problem doing the speed limit and watching the traffic lights (to stop and go) there shouldn’t be any problems,” he said.
