BOARDMAN Forest Glen traffic slows, but ...

By JOHN W. GOODWIN Jr.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Residents in one township neighborhood say bumps in a neighborhood road have made their lives a little smoother, but the fight against traffic will continue.
In the past few months, intersections along Overhill Road have been raised higher than the rest of the road, and anti-skid surfacing has been added. Two speed bumps have been installed on Mill Creek Drive.
The improvements came in light of a history of complaints to trustees from homeowners in the Forest Glen neighborhood. They say motorists use the area -- particularly Overhill Road -- as a shortcut to avoid busy Market Street, and the increased traffic is dangerous to pedestrians and causes more accidents.
Slowed them down
Marcel Svenson, a spokeswoman for the residents, said Tuesday that the raised intersections along Overhill Road and speed bumps on Mill Creek Drive have slowed speeding cars but have not helped to reduce traffic through the neighborhood.
Speeding is no longer a problem along Overhill Road, an issue Svenson called the biggest issue in the neighborhood. Some residents in the area had told trustees they did not allow their children to walk on certain neighborhood streets because of the speeding cars.
Other traffic concerns in Forest Glen, however, continue.
Svenson said traffic from Glenwood is "encouraged by the design" to veer onto Overhill Road`. It's still too much for a residential area, and residents would like to see most of those cars directed a little farther down Glenwood to Midlothian Boulevard, she said.
According to Svenson, the Forest Glen area is also experiencing a high amount of "cut-through" traffic by motorists trying to avoid the busy Shields Road/Market Street intersection. She said most of those drivers seem to be in a hurry. Speed bumps haven't been added to streets in that area.
"If they were coming through at a neighborhood [friendly] speed, then it wouldn't be a problem, but they are coming through at commuter speed," she said.
A solution offered
Residents have a solution to the remaining problems, she said:
They are hoping to introduce one-way entries to and exits from the neighborhood. Residents are preparing a proposal to take before trustees, she added.
At the start of the street improvements in Forest Glen, Trustee Tom Costello said trustees would re-evaluate the situation and decide what else could be done if the initial improvements did not adequately address the concerns. He said speed bumps might need to be added to a few other streets in the area.