Guest View: Diane Peters – Risking Our Lives on Oro Valley’s Roads (Part 1)

Anyone who reads the OVPD Facebook page has probably noticed that there have been numerous traffic accidents in Oro Valley lately. Many of them have been major accidents, many have had serious injuries, and two of these accidents resulted in fatalities (one being a pedestrian). As a result, I have become fearful of driving in Oro Valley – fearful of being in an auto accident and fearful of witnessing one.

An epidemic of serious traffic accidents in just the past four months
August 2

A 2-vehicle collision at Oracle and Hardy. One person died and two were seriously injured. (The driver of the second car that caused the accident fled the scene but was later arrested. A person who witnessed the accident and tried to help the victims said, “It was horrifying.”)

August 7

A 2-vehicle collision at Oracle and La Reserve which included a rollover.
August 15

A 3-vehicle collision at Tangerine and La Canada that involved a rolled over semi-truck.
September 24

A serious crash at Oracle and Suffolk. Three people were taken to the hospital.
September 25

A 4-vehicle collision at Oracle and Magee.

October 7

Collision rollover at Oracle and La Reserve (Right Photo)
November 21

A 2-vehicle rollover collision on Oracle, south of Steam Pump Ranch.
December 4

Multiple vehicle collision at Tangerine and La Cholla.

December 6

Multiple vehicle collision at Lambert and La Canada with one vehicle rollover.

And these are just the accidents of which I’m aware. These accidents all occurred at intersections with traffic lights. 

I’ve lived here for 20 years, and I don’t remember this many serious crashes when our population was around 30,000 in 2003 and our roads were all just one or two lanes in each direction, many with 4-way stop signs rather than traffic lights. 

More than one crash per day
There was a total of 414 auto accidents from January through September of 2023. That’s 414 accidents in 273 days! January was the worst month with 63 crashes. According to Town documents, the majority of accidents have been caused by speeding, failure to yield right of way, and running red lights.

The most dangerous intersections
According to 2022 statistics, the worst intersections for crashes in Oro Valley were:
• Oracle and Magee
• Tangerine and First
• Oracle and Pusch View
• Oracle and Hardy
• Oracle and Ina
• Lambert and La Canada
• Tangerine and La Cholla
• Tangerine and La Canada
• Oracle and El Conquistador Way

Fatal Accidents in 2022
There were five fatal accidents in 2022 occurring at the following intersections:
• Tangerine and Innovation Park Drive
• Oracle Road and Pusch View Lane
• Oracle Road and El Conquistador Way
• Oracle Road and Hardy
• Oracle Road and Magee

What is the Town doing about this problem?
I contacted the Town to inquire if anything was being done to improve safety at these intersections because, for example, despite numerous OVPD HiVE deployments (High Visibility Enforcement) at Oracle and Suffolk, serious accidents continue to occur at that location. I was informed that the Town has an internal Traffic Safety Committee whose purpose is to discuss traffic safety concerns, and that “Engineering and Enforcement are working with ADOT to look into intersection improvements for Oracle Road.”

Oro Valley Traffic Safety Committee Members
The membership includes senior staff members from Town Engineering, Town Management, Planning and Zoning, OVPD, and Golder Ranch Fire Department. Their job titles are listed below:

Public Works Director/Town Engineer, Engineering Senior Traffic Technician, Senior Civil Engineer, Public Works Engineering Manager, Engineering Traffic Technician, Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Management Analyst, Planning and Zoning Administrator, Principal Planner, OVPD Police Sergeant, OVPD Police Lieutenant, Regional Emergency Response Planner, Golder Ranch Deputy Fire Marshal, Constituent Services Coordinator, Chief Civil Deputy Attorney, Information and Technology Director.

Part 2 will be published tomorrow and includes safety tips from the Town Engineer.
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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003, moving here to escape the humidity of the East Coast. She’s been involved in OV politics and development issues since 2006, including organizing a citizens group that negotiated a controversial 200-acre development project. In her past life, she worked in various medical specialties at three university hospitals in New England. Her interests include reading, writing, nature photography, travel, art galleries, museums, and politics.