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Residents urge action on speeding near Paradise and McGill; police promise targeted patrols
Summary
Residents told the Orrville City Council that speeding on McGill Street endangers children and drivers; the safety service director and police offered temporary radar signs and directed patrols and said a formal engineering study would be required for stop signs.
At the Sept. 3 Orrville City Council meeting, neighborhood residents urged the council to address persistent speeding on McGill Street near Paradise and Yale, saying drivers regularly pass at high speeds where children wait for the school bus.
"The traffic up McGill Street is just terrible," said Bill Rock, who said he has lived at Paradise and McGill for 51 years. Carol Rock said there are no speed signs on that street and described a recent crash "just a month or so ago." Residents asked for speed-display radar signs or a four‑way stop at the Paradise–McGill intersection.
Safety Service Director Wheeler and a police representative told the council the city can deploy short‑term measures. "We can move the speed radar signs down there for a little while," Wheeler said, and the police can run directed patrols focused on the area. A police official added the department had conducted 24 to 30 traffic stops in the neighborhood over the previous two weeks and said officers would target the intersection residents identified.
Wheeler cautioned that installing stop signs as a speed control device requires following established criteria and a formal study. He said the city would perform the required study this winter to evaluate whether a stop sign is warranted and that the patrol supervisor would follow up with residents to confirm whether targeted enforcement made a difference.
Council members thanked the residents for attending and asked staff to coordinate a follow‑up so residents can gauge whether the short‑term measures reduce speeding. The council did not take formal action that night; Wheeler said staff would pursue the study and return with any recommendations.
