ROUTE 616 Poland officials recommend left-turn lane for intersection

The state must approve the plan before work can begin.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Village officials have decided a turning lane should be added to state Route 616 southbound at its intersection with U.S. Route 224.
Russell Beatty Jr., streets commissioner and police chief, said he hopes to make Route 616 into three lanes southbound. The northbound lane would remain single, but southbound Route 616 would be split at the intersection into a right-turn lane and a center lane for those going straight or turning left.
Village street workers would move the curbs back on both sides of the street to make room for the additional lane.
Beatty had no estimate of the cost to widen the intersection but said it would be minimal. He said all the work would be done in house with most of the cost coming from concrete and paint for striping.
Beatty said the work will take less than a month to complete once it is started, but he is not sure when crews will be permitted to begin. Beatty said he will seek approval of the plan from state officials this week. They must approve it before work can start.
Cited and fined
Several area residents were upset earlier this year after being cited and made to pay fines and fees for passing cars on the right and turning right at the intersection. They said the intersection is misleading because it appears to have a right-turn lane.
James Zagorsky of Struthers was one of those cited.
Zagorsky pulled alongside a village police officer at the intersection before making the right turn. He was cited and made to pay $99 in fines and fees.
Zagorsky had traveled through the intersection five times a week during the school year, but has changed his route since receiving the ticket at the intersection. He said the planned change at the intersection is a good thing, but a little late in coming. He still plans to avoid the intersection even after the change has been made.
Beatty said 34 citations were issued last year at the intersection for passing in a no-passing zone. There were also 10 traffic accidents at the intersection, he said.
In one of the accidents a tractor-trailer, trying to turn right from 616 to 224, hit a car that had pulled alongside it while also trying to turn right.
jgoodwin@vindy.com