Raleigh already knows which intersections are most dangerous. The question is how quickly the City can redesign them before the next crash becomes another data point.
For pedestrians, Raleigh’s streets are a gamble. Six Forks and Millbrook. South Wilmington and East Davie. New Bern and Sunnybrook. These aren’t just intersections—they’re choke points.
Now, for the first time, the City knows exactly where the danger is. Raleigh has formally mapped where severe crashes cluster. The newly finalized Comprehensive Safety Action Plan identifies the intersections where fatal and serious injury crashes happen most often—and outlines the infrastructure changes officials believe could prevent future deaths and injuries. But even the City admits the scale is massive.
DTR
Of the city’s ~10,000 intersections, just 200 account for roughly half of all fatal and serious injury crashes. And while intersections like Six Forks and Millbrook, South Wilmington and East Davie, and New Bern and Sunnybrook rank among the city’s most dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and scooters, Raleigh’s newly developed High Injury Intersection list makes clear the danger isn’t isolated to a few notorious crossroads.
This is not anecdotal—this is a decade of crash mapping. The City built a formula to pinpoint where risk clusters most heavily. Raleigh’s High Injury Intersections are defined not by fatalities alone, but by a combined crash score factoring in fatal, serious, moderate and minor injury crashes. For pedestrians and bicyclists, Raleigh used a separate 10-year dataset tracking all pedestrian-involved crashes regardless of severity.
It’s not random—it’s a formula. These wrecks happen in predictable places with predictable conditions. “Fast growth intensifies road safety challenges as travel patterns, traffic volumes and transportation modes evolve,” said Mayor Janet Cowell. Raleigh’s risk equation boils down to speed + sprawl + split attention. Heavy traffic volumes, high-speed roads, constant turning traffic, poor visibility and long crossing times all contribute to the danger. The pattern is remarkably consistent: multilane roads built for speed colliding with growing pedestrian activity, bus stops, commercial driveways and cars turning in every direction.
In many cases, the danger isn’t a single catastrophic design flaw—it’s cumulative friction: a fast-growing city layered onto infrastructure originally designed to move cars quickly, not necessarily people safely. “The City of Raleigh—both elected officials and staff—is committed to eliminating all fatal and serious injury traffic crashes and creating a safer, more resilient transportation network,” said Cowell, acknowledging their pledge to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries by 50% by the year 2040 and 100% by 2055.
CBRE
Beyond identifying where these crashes happen—the question is how fast the City can fix them. To address the problem, Raleigh is leaning into what transportation planners call the Federal Highway System’s “Safe System Approach”—a strategy focused less on perfect driver behavior and more on making roads themselves more forgiving when mistakes happen.
The strategy was formally presented to Raleigh City Council this spring as part of the City’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, which prioritizes projects based on crash severity, risk patterns and resident feedback.
In practice, that means protected left turns, high-visibility crosswalks, refuge islands, upgraded signal timing, curb bump-outs and lower DTR speed limits—as well as better signage on street signs, pavement markings and improved lighting. “A lot of accidents happen at night,” noted Cowell. “We can also increase things like the median so pedestrians have a safe place to stop in the middle of a really wide street.”
Projects are prioritized using more than crash history alone, says Vision Zero Program Manager Sean Driskill, including pedestrian volumes, feasibility, anticipated costs and overlap with infrastructure projects.
But redesigning dangerous intersections is rarely fast—or cheap. Many of Raleigh’s proposed improvements remain tied to larger corridor projects, state partnerships or funding mechanisms that could take years to materialize. “Roughly half of the top 200 High Injury Intersections have already had some level of safety improvement completed in recent years or planned as part of a future project,” says Driskill. Still, many remain conceptual, unfunded or tied to larger infrastructure efforts that could extend the timeline.
Since 2022, the City says it has improved roughly 40 intersections through signal upgrades, enhanced lighting, pavement markings and other safety measures. While “no single intervention has been identified as universally most effective,” says Driskill, “instead, improvements are tailored to the specific crash patterns and roadway conditions present at each location.”
In one recent successful example at Bland Road, Falls of Neuse Road and Pacific Drive, converting a southbound left turn to protected-only movement during certain times reduced total crashes by 38% and injury crashes by 83%, with serious injuries dropping from two to zero.
Raleigh doesn’t have a mystery on its hands. It has a map. The challenge now is how quickly the City can redesign its most dangerous roads before the next crash becomes another data point.
CBRE
How the City Built the Map
Raleigh’s crash rankings are based on years of traffic data—not just headlines.
Overall rankings use crash data collected between 2019–2023
Pedestrian and bicyclist rankings use a separate 10-year dataset (2014–2023)
Unlike the broader rankings, the pedestrian list includes all pedestrian-involved crashes—not just fatal or serious injuries
Rankings will be updated periodically as new crash data becomes available
CBS 17
Safety Playbook
Raleigh’s “Safe System Approach” focuses less on perfect drivers—and more on roads that leave less room for catastrophic mistakes. What the City is doing:
Protected left turns
High-visibility crosswalks
Median refuge islands
Signal timing changes
Curb bump-outs
Improved lighting
Bus stop relocation
Lower DTR speed limits
Danger Zones
Highest-risk intersections for pedestrians & cyclists—and what the City says it’s doing about them.
New Bern Ave. + Trawick Rd. New pedestrian crosswalk added; more upgrades tied to New Bern BRT corridor
Millbrook + Six Forks Rd. Pedestrian improvements planned through revised Six Forks Road Improvements project
Capital Blvd. + Calvary Dr. Crosswalks & lighting upgrades complete; redesign plans include bus stop relocations, intersection geometry & median fencing
Capital & Crabtree Blvd. Signal timing changes in place; broader pedestrian safety overhaul in development
New Bern Ave + Hill St. + Sunbury St. Planned upgrades alongside BRT project
New Bern Ave. + Shanta Dr + Sunnybrook Rd Safety improvements tied to future BRT construction
South Saunders St. + Pecan Rd. + Carolina Pines Ave. Seeking federal funding through Safe Streets for All Implementation grant application
Kent Rd + Method Rd + Western Blvd Signal upgrades complete; new pedestrian crosswalk planned after nearby I-440 work wraps
GlenwoodAve. + Brier Creek Pkwy. Future upgrades planned through NCDOT’s broader US-70 improvement project
The Raleigh Commons
Where Speed Wins
These intersections rank among Raleigh’s most dangerous overall for all modes, where speed and volume collide—literally.
S. Wilmington St. + Tryon Rd. Planned upgrades include high-visibility crosswalks, signal timing improvements, curb bump-outs & sidewalk gap fixes
New Bern Ave. + Trawick Rd. New pedestrian crosswalk installed; additional upgrades coming in conjunction with BRT corridor.
Capital Blvd. + Huntleigh Dr. Backplates, signal timing upgrades, new concrete curb ramps, additional signal heads & signal hardware upgrades planned through NCDOT partnership
CBS17
Capital Blvd. + Calvary Dr. Crosswalks & lighting upgrades complete; redesign plans include bus stop relocations, intersection geometry & median fencing
Poole Rd. + Rose Ln. Conceptual redesign complete; City exploring funding options
Forestville + Louisburg Rd. Converted into “Reduced Conflict Intersection” designed to limit dangerous turning movements, plus pedestrian crossing across Louisburg Rd.
Hammond Rd. + Rush St. Planned improvements include new pedestrian crossings, signal timing upgrades, backplates & additional signal heads
Saunders St. + Ileagnes Rd. Seeking federal funding through Safe Streets for All Implementation grant application
Glenwood Ave. + Brier Creek Pkwy. Future upgrades tied to NCDOT’s US-70 Improvement Project
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. + S.Salisbury + S. Wilmington St. Improvements planned as part of an NCDOT Spot Mobility Project
Defined by quiet family homes and strolling NC State students, Clark Avenue is typically a calm connector between the Hillsborough Street Corridor and Downtown. But the familiar scene was upended last November when NC State University assistant professor Dr. Natalia Duque-Wilckens was struck and killed by a vehicle at the Pogue Street intersection.
Her tragic death wasn’t swept under the rug—and she hasn’t been the only one affected by Clark Avenue’s risk. Raleigh police data has logged hundreds of crashes along the road over the years, with at least 100 occurring since 2023.* While just one death has resulted from those crashes since at least 2015, the number of reported injuries has held steady.
Now, the City is stepping in—installing four-way stops at key Clark Avenue intersections to improve pedestrian safety and help curb pedestrian fatalities. The move follows one resident’s request for an analysis of three intersections on Clark Avenue in the wake of Duque-Wilckens’ death. According to Will Shumaker at the Raleigh Transportation Department, that single complaint submitted to the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program immediately triggered a review of the corridor.
Before the request was submitted in February, students and community members promptly launched a local campaign to install better safety infrastructure along the pedestrian-heavy residential road. A subsequent petition drew over 1,200 signatures from residents concerned for pedestrians not just around NC State, but across the city.
Just over a month later, the engineering evaluation wrapped and their recommendation reached City Council—by March 17, it was official. The stops went live at Clark Avenue’s intersections with Pogue, Horne and Chamberlain streets a week later. The takeaway: It only takes one request to trigger a review—and there are multiple ways to make the city take notice of a local issue.
For residents looking to push for changes, early outreach matters—and is encouraged, says Shumaker. “Many neighborhoods hold discussions internally, but no formal request is made until someone takes the lead to contact the City. Starting that conversation is often the key to initiating meaningful change.”
City Council also hosts public commentary during meetings, but if you miss the call time—or aren’t apt to public speaking—voicemails are accepted Thursday through Monday prior.
Additionally, Raleighites can report a traffic problem in their area or request a traffic calming project via the Transportation Improvement Request portal. Drop a virtual pin on the location of the issue, attach a picture if needed and describe the nature of the problem—plus a possible solution.
Any resident can be the catalyst. Your input matters, and the City has the tools to act on it.
City of Raleigh will implement asphalt art initiative in September to help save lives.
July 15, 2022, will be a day Susan Woodson will never forget. The local artist and wife of NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson was walking in Downtown Raleigh to meet with her trainer that morning when a truck turned and hit her at the intersection of Hargett and Salisbury streets, dragging her several feet before stopping directly on top of her leg.
“The minute he hit me, it all went slow motion and cartoonish,” she recalls. “Fortunately—or unfortunately, I don’t know which—I never passed out. I was in terrible pain, but for some reason, I just kept myself awake through the whole thing.”
Following her horrific accident, which resulted in almost a year of recovery, Woodson discovered Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative—which incorporates art at intersections, crosswalks, plazas, sidewalks, and even traffic barriers and underpasses in an effort to improve street safety while revitalizing public spaces—and thought, “That has to happen here.” The initiative now spans the U.S. and Europe, including a mural and colorful crosswalks at a Durham intersection near an elementary school.
Seeing its success, Woodson approached the City of Raleigh to implement asphalt art here and learned the Raleigh Transportation Department had already been considering it for some time. “I am a huge proponent that public art is a part of our infrastructure and a part of our creative problem-solving within the city and the community,” says City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department Public Art Director Kelly McChesney.
Woodson’s accident escalated the conversation, and now the project is anticipated to complete in mid- to late-September. Local artist Jermaine “JP” Powell was selected to design the asphalt art at the same cross street where Woodson was hit, with a second still-tbd location under consideration for the pilot project.
“The whole idea is to create art so, as [vehicles] approach, they realize something’s on the road and slow down. … It’s something to look at and stop you from getting in a hurry,” says Woodson, who, following her accident, heard of many people suffering from similar incidents, especially in Downtown. “It has been very successful in other cities.”
In fact, according to Bloomberg’s 2022 Asphalt Art Safety Study, asphalt art projects throughout the U.S. resulted in a 50% drop in traffic crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists and a 27% increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians with the right-of-way.
“I am hoping this brings more of a visual awareness to those turn lanes and the pedestrian sight lines, and provides more of a comfortable experience for the pedestrians,” says McChesney. “And I think by having something very bright and colorful that will make sure people have to pay attention.”
The views expressed in this rant are those of the author and do not purport or reflect the opinions of Raleigh Magazine.
Stop running red lights. Please. Before it gets any worse. … It seems during the dark days of the pandemic—with fewer people on the road—everyone got more gutsy. Now, it’s as if it’s the rule rather than the exception to run a red light—like it doesn’t mean stop anymore, but, instead, HURRY UP! YOU CAN MAKE IT!
You see, when you run a red light, you aren’t just “running a red light.” You’re flying through that light at a high speed. Just think of a speeding projectile colliding with a slow moving or stationary object. Impact is quite forceful. I seem to remember a formula from high school physics—force equals mass times acceleration. Do you?
It’s no wonder red light cameras have been installed at many busy intersections. Twenty years ago or less, people could wait. If you’re in that much of a hurry, I’m sorry. What’s the rush? Is your boss such a jerk that you’re worried about being late to work? Is the day care or the ABC store getting ready to close? Think how much more time you’ll spend at that intersection after the crash. And in the hospital recovering—if you survive. Think, think, think—and just press the brake pedal. It’s the one to the left of the accelerator.
I’m waiting for the day when I witness a huge crash because someone ran a red light that I just slowed down for and stopped. I see it happening in my mind. I hear the sound of metal on metal. I smell the burn of tire tracks. I see blood on the pavement. I feel tears dripping down my cheeks. I beg of you, just wait for the light to turn green.
It’s as if drivers think by hurrying through the already red light, it will somehow not matter that other drivers have a green light. I now find myself waiting a few moments before proceeding through an intersection in case some crazy lawless lunatic with no regard for their fellow humans comes barreling through. It’s not like you’re going to save that much time. You’ll probably get stopped at the next intersection anyway.
Instead, chill out and enjoy your time behind the wheel. Listen to some music or a podcast. Talk to your kids. Practice conjugating irregular Latin verbs. Just stay off your phone. But, that’s another rant.
—A friend who cares
Got a Rant or Rave? Email it to [email protected] for consideration.
We’re gonna stop you right there—if you’re taking a turn on red in Downtown Raleigh, that is. Raleigh City Council recently approved a change for no turns on red lights in the core of DTR, aka the area between Glenwood Avenue, Peace Street, East Street and MLK Jr. Boulevard. This transportation change comes amid many recent traffic updates to improve pedestrian safety—such as lowering the speed limit to 25 mph and removing dual turning movements—as part of the Downtown Pedestrian Safety Project in partnership with NCDOT. If you’re cruising around DTR, expect to see “No Turns on Red” signs going up starting this spring. Remember, only hit the gas on green… right? raleighnc.gov
Completion date By the end of April
Where Streets between Glenwood Avenue, Peace Street, East Street and MLK Jr. Boulevard
