Dysfunctional and unsafe: that’s how a Kenmore man describes an intersection in his neighborhood. Now he’s turning his concerns into action.

Michael Potter has been worried about the intersection of Kenmore Avenue and Colvin Blvd for quite some time. So he decided to take matters into his own hands by creating an online petition earlier this fall that pushed for a traffic study.

It’s already gained more than 1,100 signatures.

“It’s pretty amazing. I didn’t really expect to get that much support this quickly. I just thought it would get a handful of people but it does seem like a lot of people are just as concerned as I am,” Potter said.

The intersection sits on the border of Buffalo and Kenmore. When you're at the intersection, you may notice there's a Colvin Boulevard and a Colvin Avenue. That's because Colvin Boulevard is part of Kenmore and it becomes Colvin Avenue once you're in Buffalo.

“A civilian is going to get hit,” said Kevin Treadwell, a Buffalo resident who was hit by a car at the intersection a few years ago.

“The car was trying to run the light before it turned red and it hit me.”

Incidents like this one have sparked Potter to act. He considers those roads dysfunctional during rush hour and unsafe for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

“Generally, what I see is a lot of people zipping back and forth from lane to lane just trying to get through the intersection, it’s not uncommon for people to sit at the light 2 or 3 light cycles before they finally get through, so I see a lot of frustration build and people making poor choices,” Potter said.

One of the things he hopes for is green arrows to be installed on the Colvin traffic lights to help cars turn left.

“What happens is people in the left lane making a turn can’t get through until the light goes red and everybody sitting behind them has to wait through another light cycle before they can go through,” he added.

Potter believes the no turn on red signs prevent the flow of traffic from Kenmore Avenue onto Colvin. He says all of this comes down to safety.

“It doesn’t feel like a safe intersection for myself," Potter added. "I also live in the community with my wife and son, so we travel this intersection as pedestrians as well as cyclists so we can actually see the danger of this intersection on all three fronts and we just want to make it safer for our family as well as everyone who lives in our community."

Potter’s petition has been forwarded to Erie County’s Department of Public Works.

Spectrum News reached out to the department who said they don’t own the traffic lights at the intersection, therefore they can’t conduct a traffic study. Spectrum News has also reached out to Buffalo, Kenmore, and Tonawanda to see which municipality might conduct the study. However, we are waiting to hear back.