FAIRPORT, N.Y. – “Someone is going to get killed. It’s not a matter of if, it’s when,” that is the warning from Emily Audet.

After an accident, a lot of people think they live at the most dangerous corner in the county. But Audet and her neighbors might be right.

They live at a 90-degree turn near Fairport High School. Too many times in the last 20 years, they say speeding cars can’t navigate the turn and crash into their backyards. The latest crash was at midnight on Saturday, April 27.

“And they end up coming through our yard where our kids are,” Audet said as she and her neighbor Terry Graham stood along the road between the tire tracks of the recent crash. “Scary. I don’t like standing here. I avoid standing here.”

Audet and Graham were visibly uneasy when they heard traffic at the corner.

On average, 3,500 cars and trucks take the turn every day. Graham has lived here for 22 years. Audet’s family moved in four years ago. Since then they’ve tracked the number of cars that have crashed into their backyards with photos and videos.

Audet counts three in the last two and a half years. Graham’s tally is more than a dozen in the two decades he’s lived at his home.

One video shows a car that came within five feet of Audet’s home. They planted evergreen trees and built a rock wall, a fence, and a shed as barriers. But the crash on April 27 shows the problem persists.

“There’s got to be something else done rather than them having to hit rocks or trees before they hit our house,” Graham said.
  
“A blinking light,” Audet suggested. “Something that will get people’s attention that it is a 90-degree turn.”

On Monday News10NBC’s Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean met Tom Frys, director of the county department of transportation at the turn.

In addition to an overhead street light and bright yellow turn signs, they installed years ago, the county DOT is going to paint a “15MPH” warning and turn arrow warning in the middle of the lane on Ayrault Road. That could happen on Tuesday. They’re also going to add radar-activated, solar-powered strobe lights on the turn signs.

Berkeley Brean: “So if a car or a truck comes up like this it’s going to trigger them to flash some lights?”

Tom Frys: “Yes. So they won’t be constantly flashing but they will be activated by vehicles approaching.”

One of the county lawmakers there is John Baynes. In an email, he wrote, “Now is the time – before it is too late and a tragedy occurs – to engineer the safest possible situation for residents, pedestrians, and motorists.”

County Legislator Lystra Bartholomew McCoy emailed, “The speed at which vehicles travel along these busy roads, as well as the angle of the curve, make accidents all too frequent. While road improvements and the addition of a sidewalk are welcome enhancements, my first priority is the safety of homeowners and the pedestrians who will be using those sidewalks.”

Perinton Town Supervisor Ciaran Hanna wrote, “Over the years the town has supported the county as their DOT has undertaken numerous safety enhancements at this specific corner. We remain open and committed to improvements that will ensure the safety of our residents, pedestrians, and motorists along this county roadway in the future.”

News10NBC will follow up on the safety measures and talk to residents about their impact on reducing accidents.