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North Royalton committee considers intersection fixes after crash at Royalwood and Ridge Road
Summary
The Streets Committee discussed potential fixes at several risky intersections, including Royalwood/Ridge and Ridge/Akins, reviewed a $500,000 allocation for Royalwood realignment, and asked the city engineer to review prior plans and volume counts before committing to work.
The North Royalton Streets Committee on Oct. 7 spent much of its meeting weighing fixes for several intersections after residents and councilors raised safety concerns, and after a weekend crash at Royalwood and Ridge Road prompted fresh attention.
Chair Joanne Krejci said the committee is reviewing the city’s top crash locations and noted two parkway intersections require coordination with the Metroparks. City Engineer Matthew Glass said a signal “will most likely be warranted on crash history,” but cautioned that volume counts cannot be completed while the State Road bridge detour remains in place. Glass said the Ohio Department of Transportation’s bridge work, originally scheduled for Oct. 8, is several weeks behind, delaying when accurate traffic counts can be taken.
Councilor Paul Marnecheck described the weekend collision in detail: “The vehicle was on Royalwood turning left, south on Ridge Road on a green turn arrow. A vehicle that was southbound on Ridge ran the red light while turning left onto Royalwood and struck the Royalwood vehicle,” he said, noting the incident briefly closed the intersection. Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz called the crash “driver error” but said he wants to balance safety improvements with other priorities and is open to lower-cost changes such as longer signal timing or a no-right-on-red restriction.
Krejci and other councilors said residents have reported near misses at the Royalwood/Ridge junction and suggested options including a turn lane, realignment or changes to signal timing. John Nickell flagged that acquiring additional property could be required for a realignment and that a reluctant property owner might delay any project.
The mayor said he will meet with school officials before changing signal timing to ensure any change does not negatively affect school pick-up and drop-off patterns. He also said he would press Metroparks leadership if the Police Chief does not receive a timely response on coordination.
Next steps: Glass agreed to review prior engineering plans and any existing counts before the committee’s next meeting and report back with whether a traffic study or lower-cost operational changes would be the appropriate first step.
