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Richfield advances Allega Way signal plan amid funding questions and private-road issues
Summary
The committee agreed to send the Allega Way signal upgrade to council while seeking revised radar-only quotes and a legal review of JEDD/TIF reimbursement rules after a trustee said Allega Way is classified as a private road.
The Richfield Streets & Highways Committee on May 28 agreed to advance plans for a new four-way traffic signal at Allega Way, a step officials said will roughly double access capacity and ease truck-related stacking on Brecksville Road. Committee members asked the mayor to present the upgrade to the village council and directed staff to obtain revised quotes for signal upgrades.
Township Trustee Don Laubacher told the committee Allega Way is classified as a private road because it did not meet county stormwater management specifications; he said that is a developer–county issue but should not block a signal installation on the village-owned portion of the roadway. The developer will cover base costs for new standard traffic lights, but the village will pay for necessary upgrades. A radar detection upgrade was originally estimated at about $31,000; the committee asked staff to seek a radar-only quote excluding decorative poles, which Kevin Westbrook (GPD) suggested could fall to roughly $15,000.
Committee members also discussed aging signal cabinets across the village that may need rebuilding, with rough quotes near $50,000 for critical intersections. Funding questions remain: a county-administered tax-increment financing arrangement (TIF) is reimbursing the developer for certain Allega improvements, but the Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) agreement's 30/30/30 revenue split is reportedly silent on pre-distribution expenses. Trustee Don Laubacher said the developer resisted covering upgrade costs. Law Director Ben Chojnacki advised a legal review of the JEDD agreement to determine whether village signal-upgrade costs are reimbursable, and the committee agreed the mayor would take the recommendation to council.
The committee discussed timing: signal equipment procurement is likely to take six to nine months because of equipment delays. Staff were told to order equipment only after council approval and to seek multiple quotes for items exceeding $25,000.
