Traffic Light To Be Installed At Controversial Cary Intersection After 15-Year-Old's Death

Two weeks after a 15-year-old girl died of the personal injuries she suffered in an accident at an intersection near Cary Park, town officials and the state Department of Transportation have reached an agreement on plans to try to make the intersection safer for both pedestrians and drivers.

On July 9, the town announced that within the next 60 days, a traffic signal and pedestrian features such as crossing lights with countdown timers will be installed at the intersection at Green Level to Durham Road and Cary Glen Boulevard. A project like this would typically take up to six months, but city and state officials hope to expedite the process.

Cary officials also say that they are launching a long-term study of traffic in the corridor on Green Level to Durham Road between Morrisville Parkway and McCrimmon Parkway, a study they hope will aid them in relieving other concerns of drivers and pedestrians, according to Time Bailey, Director of Engineering.

The push for a traffic signal to be installed at the intersection stems from a June 22 accident that claimed the life of 15-year-old Kailee Nicole Birdsong. On that day, the vehicle she was riding in swerved in order to avoid another vehicle, causing her to be thrown.

In the week following Birdsong’s death, Cary Park residents organized Light for Life, a protest march, and became active at town meetings.

Town officials sent the DOT reports on traffic counts gather over the Fourth of July holiday. After reviewing the reports, the DOT deemed traffic counts high enough to merit a traffic signal.