Think There's a Lot of Traffic in Strongsville?
You're right, there sure is -- check out these numbers
Does it ever seem like every driver in Strongsville and Brunswick is in front of you when you're trying to get through the Howe-Royalton area?
Almost. Figures show that a whopping 54,000 vehicles a day go through that intersection, many headed to I-71 or the shopping district.
Even more travel the Pearl-Royalton intersection -- more than 56,000 a day.
Compare that to the intersection at Great Northern Mall at I-480, which only sees 36,000 vehicles a day.
The mayor says the sheer volume of traffic makes it tricky to fix traffic tie-ups here.
City Council is expected tonight to look at ways to improve traffic flow at various trouble spots.
"We do know where our bottlenecks are, and where we have issues," Mayor Tom Perciak said.
But handling that number of vehicles isn't easy, said the mayor, who noted that Strongsville oversees 54 signalized intersections, which are tied together in four systems that have intricate timing mechanisms.
"It's more complex that it appears at first flush" to solve traffic problems, Perciak said.
Some More Numbers
Things have gotten better due to the widening of Pearl Road, traffic law enforcement and signal synchronization, Perciak said.
• Accidents have declined every year for the last four years, and accident injuries are down 19 percent since 2009.
• Delay time on Pearl Road between Center Middle School and Ellsworth Drive have gone from 3.3 minutes to 2.6 minutes.
• Average travel time in that stretch has gone from 7.68 minutes to 6.68 -- a full minute -- and the number of stops has been reduced from 4.8 to 2.6.
• Average speed in that area of Pearl has gone from 19.6 mph to 23.9 mph. All those factors have reduced fuel consumption an estimated 336 gallons a day for vehicles traveling that stretch.
Safety comes first in figuring out traffic patterns, followed by convenience for motorists and the cost of making the improvements, according to Perciak.
"I can't make corrections just because it's a good idea," he said. "We have to make sure it's safe, and we have to have the money."
lyn
9:22 am on Monday, March 5, 2012
OK, so the mayor knows there is a big problem at Howe/Royalton/71 and where bottlenecks are in the city, and says we we have to have the money to make the corrections.
A GREAT idea being presented elsewhere online is to forget about the rest of the Pearl Rd. widening to Boston Rd. (NO traffic, NO bottlenecks, NO demand for it), AND USE THIS MONEY, MILLIONS, to fix our current problems. Give us that badly needed exit off 71 at Boston Rd. - that means less traffic dumping off at Royalton and take the cars where they are actually heading, further south. The citizens have asked for this for years, not that senseless widening. I read that Catanazarite owns most of that property on the westside of Pearl - I think someone should look into why we are spending millions of Strongsville's taxpayer dollars to widen .9 miles of road for the benefit of some future maybe development by ONE landowner - there are many more residents here in the city to be considered. Sounds like "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". This needs investigated by some news agency or legal authority. Citizens interests are taking a backseat to Catanzarite.
And, spend some of that money on our streets, as has been asked. Just drive down any street that is 30 years or older that has been neglected - like Hunting meadows.
Take care of your taxpayers, not your buddies!!!
How about a poll - Exit at Boston OR Pearl widening from Drake to Boston?
carol merkle
4:33 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
Look to the future. We need to widen roads, Put in feeder roads next to freeways, go to overland Park KS and see what they do. We will get gambling and natural gas tax money. We have city and state taxes
some states don't collect any and they are in better shape. They must not have the corruption we have.
lyn
10:49 am on Monday, March 5, 2012
I'm for considering that or any ideas - if Its more cost effective, and helps traffic, GREAT!
As for my claim regarding Catan's, based on, just to list a few off the top of my head,:
-never been a traffic problem there -unlike it had always been an issue north of Drake
-once you get to the top of the hill, Brunswick is only 2 lanes - so widen for going where?
-neglect of street repairs to existing ones throughout the city; fix what have first - makes me wonder why aren't we
-ongoing and developing traffic conditions where attention at several intersections and corners need immediate attention
-the current major traffic concerns that are being discussed at council meetings with the mayor, but the response is "we don't have the resources"
Yet, We are plowing on with further widening where there is no near future need, and it just seems "suspicious" that the Catan's, who have been acquiring this property since the 1990's, own this and, at least IN MY OPINION, are the only ones to receive any benefit.
lyn
11:29 am on Monday, March 5, 2012
And, if we assume that the Catan family owning 62.5 acres on the westside of Pearl (if my math and county records are correct) has nothing to do with the pushing ahead of this project, despite the 6 year delay in funding we were just handed by ODOT (hope my homework is OK), then...
Just because there is a "TREND" by the mayor to widen 42 (Pearl), that doesn't mean it needs done or should be done. Since we are constantly told our resources are limited to make so many other necessary and immediate repairs and improvements around town, maybe the mayor and council should step back and reevaluate the city's priorities, instead of just doing something for the sake of doing it.
klf
1:27 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
Couldn't agree w Lyn more. I come out of Admiralty onto Pearl all the time and traffic is not an issue to get out. Why go to 4 lanes and for what? @Matt... so he wants to widen 82 and 42 coast to coast. It makes no sense if it is just to say I did it. Spend more for a purpose with a return on investment. The money has uses elsewhere. I always wondered if the Boston Rd on/off ramps are in all 4 directions when they looked at doing it. It would be extremely useful if it was just a southbound exit and a northbound entrance. I live right at Boston & Drake area and it does not bother me to drive down to 303 to go south. Those 2 ramps would cover 85% of the volume of all 4 ramps if all were constructed. It would be a huge bang for the buck that would be about 50% of all proposed costs.
lyn
2:40 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
Another cause for me to tend to doubt the real reasons things get done in our city, is that when I was looking at the county records, I happened to see that a Catanzarite owns 2 homes on and just off of Ellsworth - and then I remembered. Lots of people were upset because that street was repaved last year, a fairly new street which many people saw no need for this to be done. And so many more streets were in desperate need of repair or repaving throughout the city because they had actual potholes and bad curbs.
But, maybe this is just a coincidence.
Ted
3:14 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
Lyn,
As a longtime resident of Strongsville my first advice is to take a deep breathe, you seem very unstable. Your statements are like listening to politicans throw you know what against a wall and hoping it sticks, claiming side streets are being paved because a certain family has people who own houses on that street? Honestly? You seem to be unhappy with this Catanzarite family, but sounds more like rash rude comments with no facts behind your statements. That is further proof to people like you jamming up local boards like this with garbage. Stick to opinions on how to fix the issues and not unfounded criticism and claims. I hope you find some happiness soon because you clearly have some issues to work through. May god bless you.
lyn
4:03 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
Ted,
Thank you for your kind words. (sarcasm)
I very much appreciate, and continue to appreciate, all that the Catan family has done for the city. (NO sarcasm here)
I thought I had carefully worded my opinion after stating certain facts, and just because you do not agree with my conclusions, that does not make me unstable.
You misunderstood me. My issues are not with the Catan family, but rather with the decisions that the elected officials,.. have and continue to make, and they appear, IN MY OPINION, to be directly related to that family.
I think by voicing my opinion makes me a responsible citizen - not unstable.
As far as your statement that I should "Stick to opinions on how to fix the issues and not unfounded criticism and claims", apparently you didn't see I did just that. So, I will be more concise - We would have the resources to fix many of the problems that continue to plague the city if we divert the funds from the useless widening of Pearl Rd. I would certainly like to hear some good reasons on why to further expand this section. Convince me, and others.