The Shorewood community is calling for changes along the Route 7 corridor after another accident at the intersection.
“It’s a busy freeway, especially in the mornings when you go to school. It gets crowded,” said Devin Bauman, who lives just off Highway 7.
Incidents at this intersection often break the silence in this quiet Shorewood neighborhood.
Bowman lives next to the intersection of Highway 7 and Eureka Road.
Every now and then, he says accidents happen right outside his window.
On Thanksgiving, the teen was involved in a car crash at this intersection and survived. But last summer, another accident happened, and it was fatal.
“I saw the whole thing, just a lot of people coming together to try and save this kid. It’s very sad,” Bowman said.
Shorewood Mayor Jennifer Labadie said she has heard a lot of complaints from the community about the intersection.
“The reality is that our residents are afraid to come onto Highway 7 at many local intersections, including Eureka and 7,” Labadie said.
A year ago, MNDOT launched a study to address safety concerns in the area, and the intersection of Highway 7 and Eureka Road was part of the project.
Labadie explained that the study wasn’t supposed to take another two years, but MNDOT accelerated its completion.
In August, the agency presented its safety findings to Shorewood City Council, demonstrating ways to make the area safer.
MNDOT recommends installing pedestrian islands, constructing roundabouts, or other intersection control changes.
“It would be great to change the flow of traffic and make it a little easier to exit this intersection,” Bowman said.
At the Shorewood City Council meeting, MNDOT explained that bringing the idea to reality would require funding they did not have.
“I want them to understand that you can’t put a price on human life,” Labadie said.
