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Mahoning County engineers plan another roundabout
POLAND
Now that Mahoning County’s first roundabout is open at Mathews and Sheridan roads, county officials are considering installing a second roundabout at the intersection of Western Reserve, North Lima and Springfield roads.
The area is otherwise known as Five Points, near the township line between Poland and Springfield.
“That’s an intersection that needs dire attention,” said Patrick Ginnetti, county engineer.
Ginnetti said the county engineer’s office has applied for federal funds for the project, but that it is still in the very early phases of the planning process.
“It all depends on the funding,” he said.
Some 29 accidents were reported at the Five Points intersection between 2007 and 2009, according to the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments website, which has a database of accidents from the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Springfield Police Chief Matthew Mohn said he has noticed that traffic flow is an issue at Five Points.
“I know it’s congested with traffic, I will tell you that. It’s just a nightmare,” he said.
An official with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, however, said the Five Points intersection is not one of the major accident areas to which his department responds.
“It’s not like we have one there every week or every month,” said Lt. Nakia Hendrix, post commander at the Canfield post of the OSHP.
“The intersection is pretty safe. People just need to obey the traffic-control devices,” he said. “I think the driver’s behavior is a big key in making that intersection safe.”
Hendrix said there is a mix of serious-injury accidents and more minor accidents at the intersection.
Reducing the number of serious-injury accidents was one of the main reasons county officials opted to put in a roundabout at Mathews and Sheridan, Ginnetti said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the traffic circle.
“That’s what these roundabouts are known for — reducing the number of accidents and minimizing severity of the injuries,” he said.
Ginnetti said a consultant still has to investigate crash data and other aspects of the intersection before the engineer’s office can determine the best way to improve the safety of the location.
“A roundabout may or may not be the right solution for that intersection,” he said.
He said he does not expect to hear back about funding before the end of this year.
The Mathews-Sheridan roundabout, which was funded by federal money and local gasoline tax revenues at a construction cost of more than $600,000, was completed Aug. 27 after two months of construction and a planning process that got underway in 2011.