Through the years the city has been asked, “when are you going to do something about this intersection?” The most recent traffic study conducted in September 2014, completed by ODOT at no cost to the city, suggested widening the intersection with turning lanes or putting in a roundabout. Because this intersection is shared with the City of Avon, discussions soon began with their city officials and an engineering firm that specializes in roundabouts. In the coming weeks, a cooperative agreement with the City of Avon and the necessary legislation will be presented to City Council to move forward with the proposed project.
The projected cost for the roundabout is $800,000. The cooperative effort with the City of Avon will allow the cities to apply for federal funding and Ohio Public Works Commission funds for the improvements with little or no cost to residents of Avon or North Ridgeville. Moving the intersection slightly to the northeast on property owned by the City of Avon, reduces land acquisition costs for the project, which could not be done by widening the intersection with turning lanes. The projected installation date is summer 2017.
The following quote is provided by the ODOT study regarding the effectiveness of roundabouts, “would provide a decrease in delay for the intersection as it would allow traffic to operate at more of a free-flow condition with the implementation of a roundabout. Roundabouts provide an increase in traffic capacity and provide the highest reduction in crashes as are proven to reduce injury, fatal and overall crashes as compared with a traditional signalized intersection.”
