Most Confusing Intersection In Lackawanna

The driving in Buffalo isn't that bad. Most of us know this. We do not have to deal with the traffic that other major cities do, and you can get from the southtowns to the northtowns in 20-25 minutes, no problem, even during drive time.

But that doesn't mean that driving in Western New York is not frustrating. The countless stoplights. The massive potholes that vehicles have to routinely avoid (on major roads), and the fact there are some downright confusing roads and intersections.

I live in South Buffalo at the moment, so I often drive through the City of Buffalo, Lackawanna and West Seneca.

If you want to get from South Buffalo to Hamburg or Orchard Park, the straightest route is down Abbott Road, but if you want to bypass the intersection of Ridge and Abbott Roads, you can take South Shore Boulevard to Shamokin and eventually to Martin, to get back to Abbott Road.

It's the shortcut that many who live in Lackawanna and South Buffalo know well, but it also comes with headaches when coming to the intersection at Shamokin Drive and Martin Road.

It's a very weird intersection because Shamokin curves up to Martin, which remains straight. It looks like an intersection that should either have a stoplight, or at least have the vehicles on Martin have no stop sign, and Shamokin vehicles have to stop and yield the right of way.

But instead, it's a four-way stop, and it's hard to tell who got to the intersection first, which is always the first tiebreaker for yielding the right of way.

Then, another common problem is drivers take so long to drive past the intersection that cars can remain stuck there for a while, since cars going each direction on Martin take advantage.

The intersection is usually busy, too. The Lackawanna High School is just up the road, and Martin connects South Park and Abbott.

It probably should have a stoplight, just because of the unique layout of the intersection.