Salem to update its traffic system

By D.A. Wilkinson

The city plans to smooth out traffic on its main drag.

SALEM — Next year around this time the city will have a new system to regulate traffic on East and West State streets.

The drive along the city’s major corridor now can be either a pleasant trip or a long slog if a motorist hits most of the 12 red lights.

Mike Bibbee, the city’s electrician who oversees the system installed in 1995, said the new system will be fine-tuned to the current traffic patterns in late 2009.

The good news is the Ohio Department of Transportation will pay for 80 percent of the work. The city’s 20 percent share is about $200,000 and is already in the bank. “It’s a go,” Bibbee said.

The current system has wires buried in the streets at intersections that sense vehicles and alert stop lights to change.

Bibbee has computer programs that regulate traffic timing from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., when schools let out, with data he has collected over the years.

Steve Andres, the city’s service director, said the traffic lights will remain green on State Street all night long until a vehicle pulls up at an intersection, which then alerts the light to change. Sundays also have the same system.

The new system will have video cameras that will see the actual cars at intersections.

“We can manage the number of cars,” Bibbee said.

The city now has flashing warning lights for people crossing the street. The new system will have countdown lights to let pedestrians know how long they have to cross the street. Their wait for the next crossing may help keep traffic moving, he added.

Audrey Null, executive director of Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, said she was pleased with the idea.

She mentioned traffic tie-ups at Salem Community Hospital as one problem area.

Andres said there is an overhead walkway and a crosswalk on State Street but no one uses them, which slows traffic.

The new system will have light-emitting diode signs for motorists and pedestrians, new push buttons for pedestrians, and curb ramps and sidewalks will be replaced.

Several drivers thought the improvements would be good.

Jon Rekolt of Damascus, who works in Salem, said he had made the slow trip through town many times.

Fred Slifka of Boardman, who is studying nursing at Kent State University, also said he favors the changes.

Marvin Roth of Salem said, “Most of time I can get through all the lights.”

He said it normally takes him just eight to 13 minutes to get across town.

State Street ranges from two to four lanes. Andres said the traffic isn’t that bad for a town laid out in the horse-and-buggy era.

wilkinson@vindy.com