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Some dispute value of accident solution
By Denise Dick
By DENISE DICK
BOARDMAN
Some people don’t think a planned solution to a problem intersection is such a well-rounded idea.
A traffic study of Mathews and Sheridan roads recommended a roundabout as a solution to the intersection. A roundabout is a circular traffic pattern that guides cars along a curved path until they exit to another street. It prevents accidents and reduces congestion without traffic lights, according to officials.
The corridor of Mathews Road from South Avenue to Sheridan Road had 128 accidents from 2003 to 2005, most occurring at South Avenue, the study found.
The cost of a roundabout is estimated at $1.2 million.
Not everyone believes it’s the best solution.
“First of all, I think it’s an expensive plan,” said Elizabeth Crowll, who lives on Oles Avenue.
A left-hand turning lane would be a better solution, she believes, and would cost less. That would allow motorists who want to proceed through the intersection to do so, and those making a turn would wait.
There are a lot of accidents at that intersection, Crowll said.
Though there are similar traffic patterns in Columbiana County, Crowll said, those see less traffic than the Mathews-South intersection.
The project is funded with 100 percent federal dollars. It qualified for the federal money through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program. Its safety and crash data as well as expectations that completion will lower emissions contributed to the qualification, officials said.
Another resident at a trustees’ meeting last month questioned whether a roundabout would address the problems.
That prompted township officials to contact the Mahoning County engineer’s office.
“They told us it will be two to three years before the project gets started,” said Trustee Thomas Costello.
The county office plans public hearings on the project before work starts, he said.
“We have also asked that the engineer’s office keep us posted as to any information concerning this project as well as offered the township hall for their public meetings,” Costello said.
If there’s overwhelming opposition to the project, the engineer’s office could opt not to do it, said Jason Loree, township administrator.
But that means that the money allocated would go back to the federal government and couldn’t be used for another solution for that intersection, he said.