Leaders aim to lower speed limit

Route 528 speed adjustment discussed

Madison Village officials continue to plot a strategy for taking action that would slow northbound Route 528 traffic as it heads into the area near the water tower and McDonald’s.

When Village Council gathers for its next meeting on Aug. 19, it’s expected that members will discuss a report prepared by village Engineer Eric Haibach. He was asked by village Administrator Dwayne Bailey to research what would be required to calm traffic heading north on Route 528 from Route 307 and going over Interstate 90 as it proceeds toward Water Tower Drive.

“The first step we would attempt to do is get these speed limits addressed coming into town, because it’s 40 mph all the way to the north side of the I-90 bridge,” Bailey said at council’s July 15 meeting.

Haibach was absent from that meeting, setting the stage for more discussion at council’s next regularly scheduled session.

By the end of summer, the village will have two new hotels operating side-by-side on Water Tower Drive, located just north of the I-90/Route 528 interchange.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites opened on May 17, while a Hampton Inn by Hilton is expected to begin operating by mid-August.

Those hotels comprise a total of 163 rooms, which will result in increased vehicle traffic and possibly serve as a catalyst for more business development in the area.

At council’s July 1 meeting, Bailey brought up the idea of lowering the Route 528 speed limit to 35 mph from 40 mph starting at the road’s intersection with Route 307. Northbound vehicles coming from further south on Route 528 travel in a 55 mph zone, before the speed limit drops to 40 mph at Route 307.

That 40 mph speed limit on Route 528 remains in effect until northbound vehicles reach a point just north of the McDonald’s restaurant. The speed limit then becomes 35 mph.

Bailey acknowledged that a lot of people are calling for the installation of a traffic light at Route 528 and the interchanges for Interstate 90 westbound traffic. But before that can happen, the Ohio Department of Transportation must conduct a traffic signal warrant

study, examining factors such as vehicle volume and crash history.

“We’re going to try to get ODOT to accelerate their traffic study so that we would have that information,” Bailey said. “That will determine whether a light is warranted or not.”

The results of a warrant study also would influence where money would come from to pay for a traffic light at Route 528 and the I-90 westbound entrance and exit ramps.

“If it isn’t warranted, we’re pretty much on the hook for (the traffic light),” Bailey said. “If it is warranted, then there are some other opportunities. We can go through (the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency), and try to get some assistance and funding for that.”

At the July 1 council meeting, Haibach noted that an Ohio Department of Transportation trafficcount study conducted a few years ago didn’t warrant a signal at the location.

With only one of the new hotels being open for about two months, it hasn’t created a big increase in trips by vehicles on Route 528, Haibach noted.

“I don’t think personally that would be enough to push us over the threshold (to qualify for a traffic light at I-90 westbound/Route 528),” he said.