Last month, resident Bob Kirlin drove up to the scene of a crash with injuries on State Road 46 East at the intersection of the Brown County State Park north gate only 30 seconds after it had happened.

“I was coming back from Columbus and all of a sudden I was near there. Everyone was slamming on their brakes. I thought ‘Oh my goodness.’ People were running in the middle of the road,” Kirlin said.

The May 19 crash resulted in an 18-year-old Brown County High School being airlifted from the scene — just days before her graduation.

Not long after that crash, Kirlin started a petition on Change.org to improve the safety at that intersection. A paper copy of the petition is also available at the Carpenter Hills O’ Brown Realty office on Jefferson Street.

“For many years our community has experienced many accidents and a lot of near misses at this intersection. Our county is known for being the ‘Peaceful Valley,’ we would like to keep it that way. We need this problem to be addressed ASAP,” the online petition reads.

The plan is to present the petition to the Indiana Department of Transportation and others in state government in hopes of bringing additional safety measures to the intersection, such as a traffic light.

Sheriff Scott Southerland said that intersection is “dangerous” with cars turning onto the state highway from the state park or Old State Road 46.

“There are a myriad of ways crashes happen,” he said.

Over the last seven years, there have been at least 96 crashes reported at that intersection, according to dispatch records.

“I would be in support of a traffic light. I think it’s especially dangerous in the fall when the traffic is so heavy,” Southerland said.

“It would help the area.”

The safety of his deputies also comes to mind when thinking about traffic in that area.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources will hire sheriff’s deputies to direct traffic at the state park north gate when there is a backup, usually in October when there is more traffic to the state park and Nashville.

“But they can’t stand out there for eight or 10 hours to direct traffic the entire time. They wait until it gets backed up and it clearly becomes a problem. That is dangerous for them (the deputies),” Southerland said.

“They are on standby, if it gets backed up too bad, to get it moving again and clear the intersection out. It is dangerous. A lot more police officers are killed in traffic accidents than by gunshots.”

Southerland continued that the intersection is one of the accident “hotspots” in the county.

“I can’t think of any place where we have more crashes,” he said.

When reached for comment about the possibility of installing a traffic light at the intersection, INDOT spokesman Natalie Garrett said the department is aware of the concerns about the intersection.

“We are continuing to monitor this location and have observed traffic during various times of the year, including peak seasons for the park, but do not currently have a funded project for the intersection,” she said in an email.

At the June 1 commissioners meeting, the topic was brought up once again.

Commissioner Diana Biddle said the board had discussed the intersection with INDOT a couple of times before with the last time being about four years ago.

“It was after a bad accident out there, so when we talked to them we asked them for a stoplight. They didn’t like the idea of a stoplight because we didn’t have consistent enough numbers. Stoplights and traffic devices are controlled by statistics and vehicle counts,” Biddle explained.

”They did offer a solution that could be possible in the form of a traffic calming device — or roundabout. You ask for a stoplight and be careful what you wish for.”

Biddle continued that Highway Superintendent Mike Magner was going to reach out to INDOT as well about the intersection.

INDOT may order another traffic study, she said.

“The problem with traffic lights is they don’t change, you have to sync them. They will not put in a traffic light that turns into a flashing light (during slower traffic times) because people get used to the flashing light,” Biddle said.

“When it is actually a red light and you drive by it 25 times a day you don’t see the red light, your mind sees flashing light and it causes more accidents. … As much as I would hope for a great solution I am not very hopeful, but you never know. We’re looking into it.”

Resident Tim Clark said at the meeting earlier this month that he believed the number of accidents would go up with a traffic light at the intersection.

“I kind of like roundabouts. But having them down here is different than in an urban area. You still have to slow down. Then you have people from all over the state coming down here,” he said.

Commissioner President Jerry Pittman said a roundabout in that area would act as a “traffic blocker.”

“There are a number of different issues. The answer is just not real obvious yet,” Biddle said.

“Other than moving the intersection, I don’t know.”

As of last week, the Change.org petition had 350 signatures with a goal of 500.

To find the petition click here.