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Police: Traffic signal is needed
BOARDMAN
Another serious accident at South Avenue and McClurg Road reiterates the need for a traffic light at the intersection, say township police.
Both McClurg and South are county roads, and last spring, the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office completed a traffic study that recommended installation of a traffic light at the intersection. Currently, motorists on McClurg have to stop and wait for traffic to pass on South Avenue.
Rob Dunham of the Mahoning County Engineers Office said the project is a “high priority” for the county, but it is waiting on federal funding.
“We have applied for funding through Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. ... After we would get an award, the project’s still about 18 months away [from] being ready,” he said.
That time frame takes into account planning, getting funding approval, acquiring right-of-way land and construction.
“If a grant was awarded this summer, for example, we wouldn’t be able to build it until the spring for the following year, meaning 2014,” Dunham said. “It’s always frustrating to tell people that.”
The total project cost is estimated at $400,000 with $150,000 being used for the actual traffic-signal device, he said.
The intersection is prone to severe accidents that lead to injuries or fatalities, said Sgt. John Allsopp, traffic unit supervisor for Boardman police.
Allsopp said the traffic light should be a priority, and township trustees said Monday that they agree.
The intersection first got attention in October 2008 when a fatal accident led to a review by the Mahoning County Safe Communities Committee, which examines all fatal accidents.
Since then, the intersection has averaged three severe accidents annually, but in 2012, there already have been four, Allsopp said.
The most recent one on March 21 left a 64-year-old motorcyclist seriously injured. The motorcyclist was traveling south on South Avenue and hit a minivan that was turning left onto South from McClurg. Allsopp said most of the accidents at the intersection result from a left-turn from McClurg to South.
Dunham was asked if a right-turn only sign on McClurg Road would help and he said it wouldn’t be effective.
“People who want to turn left, will turn left. [Right-turn] only works as long as you physically can’t make a left. You would have to put a wedge of concrete there,” he said.