Don’t wait for another accident

Don’t wait for another accident

I am a frequent visitor to the Boardman YMCA on McClurg Road. On a weekday afternoon at rush hour, I witness long back-ups on the Western Reserve Road exit from I-680 and on McClurg Road and South Avenue.

The Boardman police commented on the frequent number of accidents on South Avenue at McClurg Road in a March 29, 2012, article in The Vindicator. Sgt. John Allsopp said there is an urgent need for a traffic signal. In that same article, Rod Dunham of the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office said the intersection has been studied since 2008. It is frustrating to tell people a traffic signal cannot be installed until we receive a federal grant in 2014.

The Mahoning County Engineer’s Office is aware of an emergency need for a traffic signal. It is not uncommon to hire a qualified electrical contractor to install a temporary traffic signal on existing wooden utility poles located at this intersection. In a few days using LED signal housings and controllers that are available through ODOT, this system could be up and operating on the 30-day flashing period required by state law. After 30 days McClurg Road will have a traffic signal.

Brent Kovacs of ODOT announced the availability of using LED signals in a July 20, 2011 Vindicator article about ODOT’s $1.6 million traffic light replacement project in the Mahoning County area.

So let’s stop using excuses and get this temporary traffic signal in place. With the announcement from St. Elizabeth about their $100 million dollar expansion on its Boardman Campus on McClurg Road more traffic will be utilizing this road.

I would also like to add that there is a need for a turning lane at the intersection of McClurg Road and Market Street. I hope we truly do not need to wait for the year 2014 for our Federal Grant to come through or worse yet, a life to be taken during an accident that could have been avoided using a temporary light system that is available to us now.

Mario J. Poluse, Youngstown