SOUTH PORTLAND – Accidents are becoming more of a problem at the intersection of Sokokis Street and Broadway, and residents of the area are hoping a traffic signal is the answer.

But first, South Portland officials must convince the Maine Department of Transportation that a light is needed at the site. They have sent the request to the state, along with reports showing accidents there have jumped from two in 2007 and four in 2009 to six last year.

“The hope is the accident data will be enough to sway MDOT to allow us a traffic light,” City Manager Jim Gailey said late last week. “Ultimately I feel that is the best solution for the area.”

Other solutions have been proposed, as well, from redesigning the nearby Interstate 295 on-ramp to closing off Sokokis Street altogether.

Residents and officials alike have been worried about the intersection since the introduction of the Interstate 295 on-ramp in 2008. Of particular concern, they say, is the speed of vehicles traveling northbound on Broadway, the difficulty in making a left turn from Sokokis Street, and the difficulty in determining whether southbound traffic on Broadway is continuing south or merging onto the highway.

Carol Thorne, a resident of Sandy Hill Road, said people in the neighborhood have had to change their habits in order to avoid traffic congestion. In the morning, she said, it can take three or four minutes to turn onto Broadway.

“People have adapted out of necessity, not particularly out of wanting to adapt,” she said. “They haven’t wanted to, but they have.”

But the studies have shown that the traffic coming from the side street is not heavy enough to warrant a signal, according to John Adams, a traffic engineer from Sebago Technics who has been hired by the city to examine the intersection.

However, Adams said, if an intersection has five or more accidents in a 12-month period that could have been corrected by a traffic signal, a traffic light would be considered.

At a City Council workshop last week, Councilor Alan Livingston, a resident of the neighborhood, said there have also been dozens of close calls and near-accidents at the intersection.

“We need to follow up on this and continue to have conversations with the Department of Transportation,” Adams said. “There is definitely an accident pattern developing here.”

Councilor Tom Blake said he supports pressuring the state into fixing the problem, which was created, he said, with the poor design of the I-295 onramp.

If it is determined a light is not possible, Gailey said the city would go ahead with temporarily narrowing Broadway from two lanes to one lane to reduce traffic speed and increase site lines.

Livingston said at the workshop session that making that section of Broadway one lane could backup traffic, especially during the morning and evening commute.

One resident, Brian Dearborn, of Settlers Road Extension, said simply closing off Sokokis Street, as was done with Cash Street in the Cash Corner section of the city, would solve the problem.

Gailey said that solution cannot be supported by police Chief Ed Googins, Gailey said. At most, he said, the option to turn left on Broadway could be eliminated.

Emergency officials are also opposed to closing the street because it is a main artery for the fire department and emergency medical services to access the neighborhood.

The problem could also be alleviated, said Councilor Tom Coward, by reducing the amount of traffic using Sokokis Street.

“The most effective solution is to eliminate the casual use of Sokokis assuming it does not unduly impact traffic somewhere else,” he said.