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Oxford's Crash-Prone Intersection
Cars line up on Jackson Avenue. Photo by Wes Cooper.
If you drive in Oxford, then you may be well aware of the most dangerous intersections around town or how bad traffic is on Jackson Avenue most hours of the day.
“It’s awful. I’ve been here for 20 plus years, and I guess in the last five years it has just been awful. I avoid Jackson Avenue. I’ll take the highway or back roads,” said Ashley Rankin, Hub Senior Property Manager and Oxford resident.
One of the most dangerous intersections in town is where Anchorage Road meets Jackson Avenue This intersection once had a red light, but police say the city removed it in an attempt to improve traffic conditions.
Though police do track the trouble spots, accidents occur daily throughout the city.
“On average probably five or six just over town,” according to OPD Patrolman Mark Whitaker. “We probably have the majority of them from this spot [intersection of Jackson Avenue and Anchorage Road] to Thacker and six.”
Whitaker says he only sees one solution.
“In this exact location probably a red light because of the amount of traffic the students trying to get to school. They come here. They have nowhere to turn. Other than that I’m not real sure how to fix the problem.”
Rankin has other ideas to fix the growing pains of Oxford’s traffic, “They need to widen the roads and maybe make more lanes or divert traffic in different areas. Coming off of the highway do more exits. Especially game weekends is awful. Those people who are from Oxford we avoid town on game weekends because you just can’t go anywhere.”
She continued, “They need to get a better plan for it because Oxford is growing so fast.”
As traffic conditions worsen with Oxford’s growing population, residents and visitors anticipate a solution to the traffic issues.
This story was written by Wes Cooper. He can be reached at jwcooper@go.olemiss.edu.
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Ouida Tomlinson
April 26, 2017 at 11:07 am
Recently I was traveling west on Jackson Avenue when a car pulled out of street (on my right) running by Chick- Fil-A. He crossed all lanes of traffic, going both east and west, pulling out in front of me and I could not avoid hitting him. There is no traffic light there. It is a dangerous spot and the street should be closed to avoid more accidents. Traffic can take the street about a block or so away with a traffic light. He had no insurance, left the scene but was caught shortly. I have uninsured motorist insurance but there were still deductibles, leaving me with being out $400, something I cannot afford on my limited retirement income.
Mort
April 26, 2017 at 3:32 pm
This is the direct result of Ole Miss’ forcing students to live off campus. This policy has severely damaged Oxford’s livability and charm because it has resulted in thousands of units of cheap student housing to be squeezed in everywhere.
We can thank Ole Miss for this mess.
Ouida Tomlinson
April 26, 2017 at 6:32 pm
I agree totally and so do many others, especially those who have lived here all their lives or were born here and long to come back but cannot afford high cost of living, especially housing.
SarcasmSpasm
April 26, 2017 at 7:42 pm
The problems could be mitigated by swapping out the “red lights” everyone mentions with real traffic signals that contain three different colors. Just sayin’.
Andy
June 16, 2017 at 5:35 pm
Thacker and 6 is definitely one of the most dangerous intersections in town. It’s an easy fix in my non-professional point of view:
1. Decrease speed limit for Hwy traffic approaching the intersection. Control it (cameras or police from time to time). It’s 50 MPH now I think.
2. Increase merging area for Thacker so that the cars have more space for maneuver.