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Resident urges lower speed limit and secure school access; engineer says county approval required
Summary
A Fairview Park resident asked council to lower the speed limit on neighborhood streets and to authorize a sturdier school-lot gate; the city engineer said a county road designation requires county approval for speed changes.
Dean Chubisky, a Fairview Park resident, told council on March 3 that semi trucks and large buses have been traveling through his neighborhood well above posted speeds and asked whether the city can reduce the speed limit on West 200 and Tenth Street to 25 mph. "So what I'm trying to do ... is there any way we can get West 200 And Tenth Street down to 25 miles an hour?" Chubisky asked during the public-comment period.
Chubisky said drivers are using residential streets as through routes and that he is concerned someone will be struck if speeds continue. He also raised an unrelated item about a school parking-lot gate, asking if the city can authorize a sturdier latch instead of the plastic chain currently used.
City Engineer Kim Kerber responded that the street in question is a county road and that the city would need to confer with Cuyahoga County about changing the posted speed. Kerber said business-district speed limits are commonly 25 mph while other roads are typically 35 mph, and noted there are minimums allowed by county policy. "Being that count is the county road, we would also have to confer with Cuyahoga County about the the speed," Kerber said.
Council and staff clarified that blocking a public roadway is not permitted and that any gate or barrier that limits public access raises legal concerns; a prior mayor reportedly allowed a temporary chain across the road to protect students, but a permanent gated closure would be outside the city’s authority without appropriate approvals.
Why it matters: If heavy truck and bus traffic is occurring on residential streets, lowering the posted speed or restricting truck routing could reduce crash risk and preserve neighborhood livability. However, the engineer’s statement underscored that changes to speed limits on county-maintained roads require county action and may be subject to statutory minimums or county policy.
No formal council action was recorded at the March 3 meeting on either the speed-limit request or the school-gate matter; both were raised in public comment and staff indicated next steps would include coordination with county officials where applicable.
