Police Dept. to Use New Software Program to Identify High-Collision Intersections

The City of Redwood City announced Thursday it has been awarded a $28,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a Traffic Collision Database and Mapping System software package.

The police department said Thursday, the software will be used to "more effectively and efficiently pinpoint and analyze high-collision locations throughout the City, and provide more usable information to help reduce the frequency and severity of traffic collisions."

City spokesperson Malcolm Smith said Thursday, the system will provide the City's transportation engineers and department managers with more timely and accurate data upon which to base engineering, enforcement, and other traffic-related safety decisions.

"The grant will fund a fully automated, geographic information system (GIS)-based traffic collision and analysis system, and includes the purchase and installation of the software, labor to incorporate collision and street data, and training of traffic engineering personnel in the use of the system," Smith explained.

"This software will replace the City's existing system of hand-logging each collision, and will convert the manual collision map to an interactive mapping solution, automate the production of collision history diagrams, generate periodic or specific reports, and allow staff to search collision records by location, primary collision factor, involved vehicle or party types, time of day, or other factors," he continued.

"Using this system, staff will be able to query and map information from the database to easily identify high-frequency locations and collision patterns, so that those areas can be further studied and appropriate action taken."

Where are the City's most dangerous intersections?

Earlier this year in March, RedwoodCity-Woodside Patch posed the question to our readers, "Where are Redwood City's most dangerous intersections?" 

Readers discussed various intersections throughout the city in the comments, and also helped add points to an interactive map.

Some intersections frequently mentioned were Jefferson Avenue and El Camino Real; Woodside Road at Bay Road, Broadway, and Middlefield Road; Brewster Avenue near Sequoia High School, and more.

Many residents have also been discussing the intersection of Alameda de las Pulgas and Jefferson Avenue, where, just two weeks ago, a 14-year-old Woodside High School student was killed in a collision with a truck while riding her bike to school.

PATCH WANTS TO KNOW - What do you think of this new software the Police Department is getting to help identify dangerous intersections? What do you think of the intersections Patch reader named as the most dangerous in the city back in March of this year? Are there others you think should be on the list?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

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