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Guess what? Red means �stop� Biddle-McAndrews intersection voted No.1 spot for violations By Joanna Collins The intersection at Biddle and McAndrews has the dubious honor of seeing the most red-light runners, according to Medford police and callers to a Medford radio station. KROG deejay R. Charles Snyder asked his listeners for their intersection nominations Thursday morning, after he read an Associated Press item in the Mail Tribune. That item said more than 800 people die and 200,000 are injured every year in the United States by cars that gun it through red lights. For Snyder, those facts hit too close to home. "I decided to get out the old ladder and climb up the soap box," said Snyder. Traffic lawbreakers and Snyder have a history. He cracked two ribs when a red-light runner "T-boned" him at the Crater Lake and Jackson intersection two years ago. "Thank God I wasn�t hurt more seriously," he said. So Snyder asked listeners to call his morning show and name the intersection where they see the most red lights being run. Out of 106 calls, Biddle and McAndrews racked up 36 votes. Two other McAndrews intersections were big vote-getters. Medford police Sgt. Bob Hansen wasn�t surprised by the news. Police observations matched the views of KROG�s listeners. Police consider the busy intersection to be at the top of three of the most problematic in Medford, Hansen said. Other red-hot intersections are at Riverside at McAndrews and Highway 62 at Delta Waters, he said. "Is two or three minutes (of saved time) worth the possibility of injury or killing someone?" asked Snyder. "Those minutes could be extended into hours by getting into an accident," pointed out Hansen. Citizen reports of drivers zooming through red lights have increased over the last couple years, Hansen said. So much in fact, he said, they�ve surpassed speeding reports in Medford. But just because public notice is high doesn�t mean more lights are being run, Hansen warned. In Snyder�s survey, the intersection at Delta Waters Road and Highway 62 came in second with 20 callers. Crater Lake Avenue at McAndrews got 13 votes. Following close behind was McAndrews at Riverside with 12 callers. Other nominations were Barnett at Stewart and Poplar Drive at Highway 62. To drive home his point about dangerous intersections, Snyder is thinking about moving his morning show to one of them for a day to count red-light runners, he said. Because of concerns about chronic red-light violations, Medford police are looking into purchasing and installing cameras that catch lawbreakers in the act. Police are still researching prices and models for the cameras, Hansen said. He hopes they�ll be placed at major intersections within a few months. Meanwhile, Hansen said, drivers should leave themselves more time to get where they�re going. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA