A chance to have your say

One of Boardman Township's main thoroughfares will be jammed this afternoon, but there will be few if any complaints. After all, everyone loves the annual St. Patrick's Day parade.
But come Monday, traffic congestion in one of Ohio's largest townships will again be a topic of conversation in homes, businesses and, of course, the government administration building. This conversation has been going on for many years, especially pertaining to U.S. Route 224, one of the busiest commercial corridors in the state. With 32,500 vehicles a day traveling the stretch of U.S. 224 from State Route 11 in Canfield and Interstate 224, the word congestion doesn't begin to describe what drivers have to contend with.
As a 2004 crash study by the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments states, "High traffic volumes result in high frequency of accidents at the intersections and proportionately high rates of accidents where congestion occurs. The six-mile strip of US224 between SR11 and IR-680 has seen more than 2,000 accidents in the last three years (2000-2003). Half the accidents occur between intersections where cars are turning into driveways, while the other half occur at the intersection. The US224 at South Avenue intersection ranked 21st on the State's list of safety problem areas and the three mile segment just west of South Avenue ranked 28th Statewide. Non-intersection accident rates for the entire corridor were 3.89 per million vehicle miles of travel [MVMT] for years 2000-2003; well over the Ohio Highway Safety Program threshold of 1.0 per MVMT."
Clearly, solutions must be found -- sooner rather than later -- to this long-standing problem.
Year-long study
Eastgate COG and the Ohio Department of Transportation are doing just that. They each have committed $500,000 for a year-long study by URS Consultants of Akron. By early next year, URS should be in a position to suggest solutions to the U.S. 224 problem.
The company is being assisted by a steering committee made up of business owners, government officials and residents who live and work along the route. The committee met March 2 and heard from residents about everything from difficulty turning left from side streets, to unsightly signage to just too much traffic. Such input is necessary and important because, in the end, whatever solutions are proposed will have to have the support of residents.
Indeed, on March 22 at the Glenwood Middle School Cafeteria, the public will have the opportunity to be heard.
And while complaining does make one feel good, proposing well-thought-out, practical solutions is much more satisfying. In that regard, we would urge residents to review the various studies conducted by Eastgate COG and the state on the U.S. 224 corridor. The 2004 crash study we referred to earlier is highly recommended. It is well done and is a definite eye-opener.