At what's already known as a trouble spot, collisions at the intersection of Fourth and Second Avenues nearly doubled this year.

According to statistics from the Yukon government's (YTG's) motor vehicles branch, accidents at the downtown intersection rose from 13 in 2004 to 23 in 2005.

Injuries doubled from two to four over the same period.

In an interview this week, Mayor Ernie Bourassa said he felt some of the accidents can be attributed to new infrastructure at the intersection while others could likely be attributed to speed.

'It's always been a troublesome intersection,' he said. 'I know some of the accidents occurred because we went to the double turning lane there,' he said.

The city installed a double left-hand turning lane at the intersection during the May long weekend.

Broken down, government statistics show there were more accidents at the Second and Fourth intersection in the last half of 2005 than there were in the first half.

According to the statistics, in 2005 there was one accident in January, one in February, two in March, four in May, five in June, two in July, one in September, six in October and one in November.

According to accident reports gathered by the YTG, of the 23 accidents in 2005, two involved the confusion of inexperienced drivers. Two were from another human condition, while three resulted from inattentive driving.

Four were from the failure to yield the right-of-way, two were from the disregard of traffic control devices, one was from following to closely, one was from an improper turn, 11 were not stated, and one was unknown.

Each accident, according to the YTG, can have up to four contributing factors.

During the same period, at other downtown intersections chosen at random, accident ratios remained fairly consistent between 2004 and 2005.

In 2004, the intersection of Two Mile Hill and the Alaska Highway saw five accidents with no injuries, and dropped to four collisions with one injury in 2005.

The intersection of Hamilton Boulevard and the Alaska Highway saw six accidents and no injuries in 2004 and two accidents and no one hurt in 2005.

Main Street and Second Avenue had nine accidents and one injury in 2004 and four accidents and one injury in 2005.

Stickland Street and Second Avenue saw two accidents in 2004, with no reported injuries, and four accidents and one injury in 2005.

City engineering manager Wayne Tuck said he is aware there have been additional accidents at Fourth and Second this year and that a traffic committee, made up of various city officials and the RCMP, had been discussing the matter.

'We've been talking about it the last little while,' Tuck said.

He said he could not determine the cause of the increase without seeing accident reports but believes many of the accidents can be attributed to speed and failing to yield to other vehicles.

In an interview last week, Tuck said the city is considering putting up signs, similar to those atop Two Mile Hill, to inform people that the area is known for bang-ups.

'We're talking about a campaign to get people to slow down ... it boils down to speed,' he said.

New city manager Dennis Shewfelt agreed with Tuck, saying Whitehorse motorists have a tendency to rush through the advanced green turning signal.

'I can't say for sure, but there is an advanced left turn arrow ... people try to rush through the arrow,' he said.

Shewfelt said he would have to see the accident reports before he could determine why collisions at the intersection have doubled.

Responding to questions from the Star, Diane Brent, president of the Downtown Residents Association, said the intersection has not been a point of concern for her group but that the statistics are startling.

'If there is something wrong, then I guess you'd have to have the experts look at it,' she said.

'Certainly, I'd like to see something done about it.'

Howard Firth, the president of T.A. Firth Insurance, said he's not concerned with the intersection itself, but rather with the habits of select Yukon drivers.

'It's a re-education problem of the public driving. I think the lanes are clearly marked,' he said.

While there has been confusion in the downtown sector with the addition of the double turning lane and bike landes on Fourth Avenue, Firth believes the public has been properly informed.

He said he was more concerned with the frequency of accidents that occur in the city during the brief rush hours.