Fort Mitchell citizens are signing a petition to demand changes at the intersection of Dixie Highway and Highland Avenue. The petition, which has been active for just a couple of weeks, has over 500 signatures and aims to get the attention of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
“This intersection has become increasingly hazardous for both pedestrians and vehicle traffic,” Steve Dora, creator of this campaign, said on the petition’s webpage. “The lack of adequate safety measures puts everyone at risk—especially our children who must navigate this dangerous crossing daily.”
Dora explained to LINK nky what drove him to action on this issue.
“I live behind the firehouse,” Dora said. “Three or four weeks ago, my wife saw a car blow through a red light, and she almost got hit. That’s when I realized it was dangerous. A lot of kids walk that intersection to get to Beechwood. That was the trigger.”
When Dora spoke about his family’s experiences on Facebook, people showed support. His post got 30-40 comments from neighbors saying they would sign a petition.
The Fort Mitchell city government has expressed their support from early on. Dora says that when city council member Kim Nachazel shared the Facebook post, 100 people signed within 48 hours. Because the intersection involves Dixie Highway, a state road, the city government of Fort Mitchell cannot take any action or make adjustments to the crossing. So, it falls to the state to make any changes.
Since his Facebook post, Dora has started an online petition on Change.org.
“I’m also walking door-to-door in that neighborhood,” Dora said. “It’s not just me that doesn’t like that intersection.”
Many of the people signing have their own story of danger there. One of those people is Jenn Henke.
In December 2017, Henke stopped her car at the Dixie Highway-Highland Avenue intersection when another driver hit her. Henke was with her four-year-old son and was six weeks pregnant at the time.
“I was waiting on Highland Avenue to turn left,” Henke said. “When the light turned green, I pulled onto Dixie and immediately realized I was in trouble. A car to my left wasn’t slowing down for the red light at all. [ . . . ] If I kept going, the oncoming car would have hit my son directly. So, I slammed on my brakes so that it would t-bone me instead of him.”
The Fort Mitchell Fire and Police Departments ran to the scene to help Henke and her son.
“Thankfully, my son and unborn baby were okay,” Henke said.
She also told LINK nky that she was grateful for this petition. “I have four kids at Beechwood, and I rarely allow them to walk because of the Highland-Dixie intersection, even though we live off of Highland.”
Since March 2020, 19 crashes have occurred at the intersection. LINK asked the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet about what they think is causing these crashes.
“Of those crashes, five were due to motorists running a red light,” the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said in a statement to LINK. “Six crashes were due to failure to yield, changing lanes, or driving distracted.”
However, according to Steve Dora, those statistics don’t tell the whole story.
“One of my concerns is all of the near misses that don’t get caught,” Dora said. “A lot of the blown lights don’t get caught and tracked. So it’s only if someone blows a red light and hits someone that it is recorded.”
All of this has culminated in creating an atmosphere of apprehension for pedestrians and drivers at this intersection, Dora said.
“Ensuring the safety of all highway users is a priority of this administration,” said the transportation cabinet. “While preliminary data does not indicate an increase in crashes in recent years, our engineers will review the Dixie Highway and Highland Avenue intersection to identify potential safety enhancements.”
The cabinet said they have already made some modifications in hopes of improving safety. “We recently updated the red light clearance times at this intersection,” read the statement.
This means that they have made adjustments to the amount of time between a traffic light turning red and the light for the opposing flow of traffic turning green.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet also said it has made itself available to “assist the city of Fort Mitchell if they wish to add overhead street lighting in that area.”
He Dora told LINK nky that he wants the state to improve the intersection’s safety by increasing awareness of the problem, studying the traffic patterns and finding an engineering solution to address the root of the issue.
“My hope is that they can look at the intersection from a preventative mindset,” Dora said. “If we do get something done, and notice a reduction [in near-misses and crashes], it gives you back some of that confidence in your safety and wellbeing in the neighborhood.”
The city of Fort Mitchell has sent a letter to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet official asking for attention and focus on this intersection for the good of their citizens. Some of the houses in that neighborhood are within Fort Wright city limits. As a result, Fort Wright has passed a resolution to send a letter with Fort Mitchell showing their support.