Key Takeaways
- Fargo’s spring brings familiar annoyances—street‑racing noise, road‑construction delays—but also proactive efforts to improve traffic safety.
- A reader’s question about extra cameras at University Drive & 19th Ave N led to the discovery of a naturalistic traffic‑safety study conducted by NDSU engineering professor Armstrong Aboah.
- The study uses unobtrusive cameras to collect real‑world data on vehicle and pedestrian behavior, aiming to develop an AI‑powered “smart intersection” that can adapt signals, warn users, and reduce crashes.
- City transportation engineer Jeremy Gordon emphasizes low‑cost design changes—such as correcting negative‑offset medians, adding friction through on‑street parking or trees, and converting signals to four‑way stops—to improve visibility and slow traffic.
- Sergeant Josh Loos of the Fargo Police Traffic Safety Division stresses that slowing vehicles (via roundabouts, narrowed lanes, and four‑way stops) and eliminating distracted driving are the most effective safety tools.
- Ongoing initiatives include roundabouts in south Fargo, redesigns of NP Avenue, targeted enforcement at high‑crash “areas of focus,” and public‑education campaigns (e.g., seat‑belt use).
- Both engineers and law‑enforcement agree that a combination of smarter infrastructure, behavioral nudges, and enforcement is needed to curb speeding, street racing, and distracted‑driving crashes as the city grows.
Fargo’s Seasonal Traffic Challenges and Community Response
Each spring, Fargo residents brace for the familiar roar of street racers tearing through quiet neighborhoods and the inevitable snarls caused by ongoing road‑construction projects. While many simply grumble and adjust their routes, a growing coalition of city officials, academics, and law‑enforcement officers is actively seeking solutions. The city’s rapid growth has amplified the need to anticipate shifting traffic patterns and driver habits, prompting officials to explore both high‑tech research and pragmatic engineering fixes.
The Reader’s Question That Sparked a Discovery
The story began when a curious reader noticed unfamiliar cameras perched above the traffic lights at the bustling intersection of University Drive and 19th Avenue North. Unlike the well‑known Flock cameras used by the Fargo Police Department for criminal investigations, these devices appeared different. The reader’s inquiry prompted The Forum to investigate, revealing that the new equipment was part of a research project rather than a surveillance expansion.
Flock Cameras: Controversy and Context
Fargo’s Flock system, approved two years ago, mounts high‑resolution cameras atop traffic signals city‑wide to aid police in tracking suspect vehicles during pursuits and investigations. While useful for law‑enforcement, the technology has sparked privacy debates, with some jurisdictions banning its use altogether. Understanding this backdrop helped clarify why the reader was initially alarmed by additional lenses on the same poles.
Professor Armstrong Aboah’s Naturalistic Traffic‑Safety Study
The cameras at University & 19th belong to Armstrong Aboah, an NDSU engineering professor originally from Ghana who earned his PhD at the University of Missouri. His work blends data science, computer vision, machine learning, and image generation—techniques once relegated to science fiction—to study how people move through urban spaces. Aboah is conducting a two‑year “naturalistic” study at this intersection, which has historically ranked among Fargo’s most dangerous. In a naturalistic design, researchers observe subjects in their everyday environments without manipulating variables, capturing authentic behavior patterns.
Why the University‑19th Intersection Was Chosen
Aboah selected the site because it sits at a crossroads of heavy foot traffic: student apartments to the north, the NDSU campus to the south, the Fargodome, nearby restaurants, and a gas station. The confluence of vehicles, pedestrians, and frequent events creates a rich data set. Moreover, the intersection currently relies on pre‑timed traffic signals that cannot adapt to fluctuating flow, often causing unnecessary delays and increasing crash risk.
Vision for a Smart, AI‑Driven Intersection
The ultimate aim of Aboah’s project is to transform the intersection into a “smart” hub equipped with an artificial‑intelligence system capable of real‑time safety messaging, dynamic signal optimization, and predictive crash analysis. By continuously learning from live video feeds, the AI could adjust timings on the fly, warn pedestrians of approaching vehicles, and provide traffic‑management planners with actionable insights—especially valuable as Fargo expands and travel patterns evolve.
City Engineering’s Immediate, Low‑Cost Fixes
While the AI study progresses, Fargo’s transportation engineer Jeremy Gordon is already implementing tangible improvements. He identified a common flaw at many intersections: a “negative offset” where medians are staggered, causing left‑turning drivers to block each other’s view of oncoming traffic. Gordon’s remedy—removing the median or curb on one side to create directly opposing left‑turn lanes—dramatically improves sight lines and is expected to cut crashes significantly.
Introducing “Friction” to Slow Traffic
Gordon also champions the concept of friction—design elements that naturally reduce vehicle speeds. Examples include on‑street parking, tree‑lined arterials, and roundabouts. By deliberately adding friction, the city encourages drivers to stay alert and travel slower, which in turn lowers the severity of any potential collisions. Recent projects such as converting NP Avenue from three lanes to two, removing signals in favor of four‑way stops, and installing roundabouts in south Fargo illustrate this philosophy in action.
Police‑Led Enforcement and Focus Areas
Sergeant Josh Loos heads the Fargo Police Traffic Safety Division, which deploys six officers to monitor roughly 50 high‑risk “areas of focus” identified through crash data. Unlike regular patrol units, these officers concentrate on enforcement, crash response, and proactive safety initiatives. Loos credits recent redesigns—such as the NP Avenue four‑way stops and downtown roundabouts—for measurable safety gains, noting that slower streets inevitably produce fewer severe accidents.
The Role of Driver Behavior in Safety Gains
Loos emphasizes that infrastructure alone cannot eliminate risk; driver behavior remains critical. He points out that distracted driving—particularly phone use—paired with excessive speed fuels most major crashes in Fargo. A recent seat‑belt enforcement campaign revealed a troubling number of violations, underscoring the need for continued public‑education efforts. Loos advocates for roundabouts on problematic corridors like 10th Street and University Drive to deter street racing, which currently concentrates around a Circle K on 19th Avenue and 10th Street before looping via University and 10th Streets.
Looking Ahead: A Combined Strategy for Safer Streets
Both Gordon and Loos agree that a multifaceted approach is essential. Gordon’s wish list includes more roundabouts, better lighting, and continued median corrections. Loos’s top priority remains simple yet powerful: convincing drivers to put down their phones and focus on the road. As Fargo’s population grows, the city’s blend of cutting‑edge academic research, smart‑infrastructure pilots, low‑cost engineering tweaks, and targeted enforcement offers a promising roadmap toward reducing crashes, curbing street racing, and fostering a safer, more responsive transportation network.