Erie County's most dangerous crossing has it all — a bustling hospital, a park, Metro Bus stops, parking garage and lots, with thousands of busy pedestrians and impatient motorists trying to negotiate it every day.

Abbott Road at Cazenovia Street and Lorraine Avenue in front of Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo has been found to be the most dangerous intersection in Erie County, based on a new report on pedestrian and bicyclist safety at intersections.

Table: Injuries at dangerous intersections

That intersection alone was responsible for nine pedestrian injuries from 2006 through 2008. The report ranked this intersection the third most dangerous in five major upstate New York counties, according to a report being released today by AARP.

The hit-and-run accident involving a pregnant woman May 17 offers the most recent addition to this intersection's grim highlight reel in what the latest report calls "preventable tragedies."

Lynette Venezia, 44, had just left the hospital and was crossing the street, when a pickup

turning from Cazenovia onto Abbott, struck her while she was in the crosswalk. She remains in

a medically induced coma in critical but stable condition.

The crosswalk where Venezia was struck is the same one that hospital employees Sue Liedy,

Latia Green and Nikki Terry use daily.

"It really is very, very busy and very congested," Liedy said. "I think the problem is the

arrow."

An advance arrow allows motorists to turn left from Cazenovia or Lorraine onto Abbott,

while pedestrians wait to cross. Sometimes, such as on a recent afternoon, cars run the red

light, or don't wait for pedestrians, or ignore the "No right turn on red" sign.

"A lot of people don't pay attention to the light, then they speed," Terry said.

The Abbott Road intersection isn't the only dangerous crossing in Erie County. The report

listed eight others where six or more pedestrians and/or cyclists were injured from 2006

through 2008. All were located within the City of Buffalo.

By the numbers

Summary of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities per year in Erie County

YearInjuriesFatalaties

200684118

200773110

200883117

Total2,40345

Source: Tri-State Transportation Campaign for the American Association of Retired Persons

The report by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit organization dedicated to

reducing dependency on cars, looked at state Department of Transportation data regarding the

number of pedestrians and cyclists hurt or killed at intersections in five upstate counties,

including Albany, Broome, Monroe, Onondaga and Erie.

"Clearly, with the data we have seen with these five upstate counties, there is a problem

that needs to be addressed," said Bill Ferris, AARP lobbyist for New York State.

Among all the counties, Erie had the greatest number of injuries and deaths every year from

2006 through to 2008, the report time period. In those three years, 2,403 people were injured

and 45 were killed here, the findings showed.

"These preventable tragedies are often labeled "accidents,' though recent research suggests

that road design and the availability of basic walking and bicycling infrastructure ... play a

big role in fatality rates," the report stated.

During the three-year time frame, seven pedestrian injuries each were reported at the

Bailey Avenue and Walden Avenue intersection and the Franklin Street and West Chippewa Street

intersection.

Other dangerous intersections included Delaware and Hertel avenues, Niagara and Maryland

streets, Delaware Avenue and West Chippewa Street, Hertel Avenue and Niagara Street, Allen

Street and Delaware Avenue, and Utica and Main streets.

The City of Buffalo has improved or has plans to improve six of the intersections and soon

will study the other three, city officials said. Improvements include accessible ramps at

intersections, countdown walk indicators, repaving and new road striping.

"We really want it to be as safe as it can for pedestrians," said Buffalo Traffic Engineer

Eric Schmarder. "For a pedestrian to cross an intersection is a daunting task at times."

While the Delaware-Hertel intersection is one of the city's busiest, according to city

officials, the Abbott intersection may have more pedestrians.

In addition to Cazenovia Park with its pool and ice rink, it is home to Mercy Hospital,

Buffalo's busiest hospital with 40,000 visits to its emergency room and 20,000 admissions each

year. Mercy employs 2,100, and the parking garage handles 1,200 vehicles a day.

"Clearly that's a large place and one of the major employers down there," said Dennis

McCarthy, vice president of public relations for the Catholic Health System.

The report did find that older residents of Erie County were disproportionately represented

in the fatality statistics, accounting for 27 percent of bicyclist and pedestrian deaths even

though they make up only 21 percent of the county's population.

Older residents are more likely to be victims of road accidents for a number of reasons,

the report stated. They are less able to evade an oncoming vehicle, less likely to survive

collisions with a vehicle and are more likely to have "retired" their car keys and are walking

instead.

At a news conference today, AARP is expected to use the report to push for the passage of

"Complete Streets" legislation in New York State that would raise the bar for intersection

design standards.

The faster the speed and wider the intersection, the more dangerous it is for pedestrians,

according to Dan Burden, the founder and executive director of Walkable Communities, a

nonprofit organization helping North America develop walkable communities.

"We've tended to overbuild our cities for the cars," he said. "The other problem is the

wider the intersection, the more likely the pedestrian will be dealing with risks they just

cannot address."

It's incumbent on pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists to obey traffic laws, city

officials said.

"Any intersection could be a hazard," said Schmarder, Buffalo's traffic engineer.

"Everybody needs to be paying attention."