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Residents press council for traffic signal at Springfield Road and Route 14; request to close Lakeview Drive for July 4 event
Summary
Residents told council that heavy truck traffic and a detour have made the intersection of Springfield Road and Route 14 dangerous and asked for a traffic signal; staff said ODOT approval is required and staff will review traffic counts. A separate request from neighbors to temporarily close Lakeview Drive for a July 4 street party was referred to zoning and the city event-packet process.
Residents raised safety concerns at the May 5 Columbiana City Council meeting about the intersection of Springfield Road and Route 14 and the impacts of a detour that has funneled trucks through residential streets.
Carol Friedman, who identified herself as a Springfield Road resident, told council: “A traffic light is needed at the corner of Springfield in 14. A ton of traffic because of Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply, the way station … there have been a number of accidents.” She said police conduct checks but that drivers often exceed the speed limit when officers are not present.
City staff acknowledged the complaint and said the city has previously submitted a traffic study for parts of the area linked to Tractor Supply and other development. City Manager Lance said the process requires ODOT participation. “Typically, we, I mean, we definitely need, ODOT approval to put a light in,” he said, and offered to follow up and review the relevant counts and process with residents.
Tom Friedman, who also lives on Springfield Road, said heavy dump trucks from the nearby stormwater construction have used his street for hauling material and asked whether trucks can be routed to avoid residential roads. Staff replied that many of the heavy trucks are associated with the current stormwater projects and that certain routes qualify as federal truck routes tied to past federal funding and planning.
Separately, resident Wayne Kennard said his Lakeview Drive neighborhood (10 households) wants to temporarily block its entrance to hold a July 4 street party and has signatures from all households. Staff directed Kennard to contact the zoning office (Bryce) to obtain the city event/road-closure packet so departments (police, fire, public works) can sign off; council said it would consider the request after the administrative packet is completed.
Council asked staff to follow up on the traffic counts and ODOT process and to provide guidance to residents about the event-permitting procedure. No immediate engineering changes or signal installations were authorized at the meeting.
