ROUTE 224 CORRIDOR Public vents over busy highway

All of the lights are for businesses rather than for residential areas, one man said.
BOARDMAN -- Difficulty turning left from a side street, a need for better signage and too much traffic were some of the problems residents identified Wednesday in a meeting about U.S. Route 224.
Home of a thriving commercial corridor and the main commuting route from the area's fastest-growing suburbs, the seven-mile stretch of U.S. 224 sees about 32,500 vehicles a day. And many people say that is too many, at least for way the road is designed.
Worse than Chicago
"I drive regularly in New York City, and I drive regularly in Chicago. I was just in Chicago last week," said Boardman resident Lawrence Button.
"I hate it, but I don't hate it as much as I hate driving on 224."
The problem, he says, is that when a light changes, only a few cars get through. There's a lack of driver awareness.
"I get onto 224, and I think my Social Security is going to kick in before I get to the other end," Button said.
Many of the roughly 20 citizens attending pointed to difficulty making left turns from side streets onto the busy thoroughfare.
Short cuts
Joe Ignazio, another Boardman resident, said he often cuts through shopping plazas to get to a light so he can execute a left turn. Twice he's gotten into accidents doing that.
Another time he got a ticket for waiting in a turning lane to get into a driving lane on U.S. 224.
"All of the lights on 224 are for businesses," Ignazio said. "None are for the residential areas."
Others cited the need for beautification and better signage along the route.
The meeting was for residents, business owners and government officials who live and work along the road. It is the first phase of a year-long study of the corridor between state Route 11 in Canfield and Route Interstate 680.
Funding sources
The study is funded with $500,000 from Ohio Department of Transportation and another $500,000 from Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. URS Consultants of Akron was hired to conduct the study.
A public meeting to gather input about problems from the public at large is expected to be later this month
URS expects to develop concepts for solutions to the problems by early next year.