At a meeting of the Grand Island Traffic Safety Committee, members agreed to ask the New York State Department of Transportation to conduct an on-site review of the Baseline Road–GI Boulevard/Whitehaven intersection to assess alignment and sight-line issues that members said have contributed to collisions.
Speaker 6, summarizing the committee’s discussion, said: "Jose is gonna contact the region New York State Regional Traffic and Safety Group to request to meet on-site and discuss possible modifications." Committee members agreed that a face-to-face inspection by DOT traffic engineers would allow staff to demonstrate the skewed geometry and discuss remedies such as realignment or, if required later, signalization.
Committee discussion centered on the intersection’s offset left-turn lanes. Speaker 4 described how the lanes do not line up, creating blind spots for drivers making left turns: "Anybody making a left hand turn ... can't see because they're looking beyond this lane right here, and they can't see anything coming." Members compared the problematic intersection with nearby intersections that are better aligned and suggested replicating their lane geometry as a low-cost safety improvement if feasible.
The committee also reviewed maps and GIS imagery during the meeting to show the offset and called for record plans from county engineering teams to verify existing alignments. Speaker 5 urged the group to invite regional DOT staff to visit the site during daytime conditions so engineers could evaluate sight lines and marking/striping alternatives in person.
The committee recorded a related follow-up task: Speaker 2 asked staff to check specifications for a dim solar street light at a nearby location and to report back after consulting Dale Berger, the town’s contractor who maintains lighting products. That inquiry is separate from the DOT outreach but was discussed during the same safety conversation.
Votes at a glance:
- Motion to approve the minutes from 11/11/2025: moved (not specified), seconded by Speaker 5; outcome: approved. (SEG 024–SEG 046)
- Motion to adjourn the meeting: moved by Speaker 2; outcome: approved. (SEG 1244–SEG 1252)
What’s next: The committee assigned Jose to contact the New York State Department of Transportation regional Traffic and Safety Group to request an on-site meeting to review possible modifications; the committee will report back after that meeting.