DATA: Crashes at Highway 65 and Fireside Drive NE, Fridley
Of 11 crashes from 2009–11, all but one involved left turns or through-movements at intersection.
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The intersection of Fireside Drive NE and Minnesota Highway 65 in Fridley has seen at least two significant crashes in the last four months:
- Fridley firefighter Scott Allard died April 10 from injuries sustained in a March 31, 2012, crash. According to the police report, Allard was attempting to cross Highway 65 westbound at Fireside Drive NE when his motorcycle hit a northbound van. Several witnesses said Allard's view of the van may have been blocked by a vehicle turning right onto Fireside Drive.
- Fridley police said a driver exiting the Fridley Terrace manufactured-home park on July 16 on Fireside Drive went into the path of a truck heading south on Highway 65. The collision sent the larger vehicle tumbling on the highway. Neither driver was seriously injured.
How common are crashes at Fireside and 65? Here is the state's tally of crashes at the intersection from 2005 to 2011:
Crash Data for Highway 65 and Fireside Drive NE, Fridley
| Year(s) | Serious injuries | Minor injuries | Property damage only |
| 2011 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 2 | ||
| 2009 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 2005–08 | 3 | 4 |
Source: MnDOT
The Minnesota Department of Transportation crash tally for Fireside Drive and Highway 65 does not put the intersection on the agency's list of the 200 crossing with the most crashes, according to MnDOT Metro Distict Director of Communications TK Kramascz.
The crashes that do occur there show a pattern, Kramascz said: Among the 11 crashes from 2009–11, 10 involved vehicles making left turns or through-movements across the highway at the intersection.
Design Change Possible
It is currenlty an uncontrolled intersection of a divided state highway and a city street, with a median opening for crossover traffic. Kramascz said the agency would be open to the idea of closing the median crossover and changing the intersection design to "right-in/right-out" to cut down on crashes there.
That would mean drivers who now make left turns onto or from Fireside Drive would have to go south to 73rd Avenue NE or north to Osborne Road NE and do a U-turn instead.
About a dozen miles north on Highway 65, MnDOT has built "J-turns" a short distance from intersections without traffic signals to provide a "safer geometric angle" for easier U-turns, Kramascz said.
MnDOT engineers would conduct traffic count studies if the City of Fridley were to request such a change. Often, Kramascz said, nearby residents and business owners object to closing median crossovers like the one at Fireside Drive.
Josh Davies
10:07 am on Thursday, July 26, 2012
Why not just close that exit from the trailer court all together? It makes no sense that so many cars pile up in the median every day waiting to cross, it's amazing there's not more accidents. Those on Fireside can either turn right onto 65 or maybe they can reopen the frontage road that used to go south past the old oil change place to 73rd.
The trailer court already has another entrance on Baker street on the west side, if 2 exits are needed there's plenty of options.
1. Open the fence on the west side and have them exit onto South Circle to 73rd.
2. Move a trailer on the south side and create an exit to 73rd.
3. Add an extension to North Circle in the NE corner of the court and they can take that road to Osborne.
Sarah
9:11 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
There have been at least two more accidents there since this was posted, one involving a minivan, and pick up truck, and today, they shut down that stretch going south bound due to 3 vehicles crashing (between Osbourne and 73rd) The median should just be shut down. I am right on highway 65, I see how badly it gets backed up everyday. My kids have witnessed many of the accidents, and we were all outside when the guy was hit on the motorcycle. My kids are all 6 and younger, and it seems every month this summer, there has been an accident. A lot of the traffic from 65 goes flying down Fireside Drive, so its just not the people turning into or out of Fridley Terrace (mobile home park on the west side of 65). They really need to make it so people cannot take left turns there anymore.