Resident: Stoplights needed for pedestrians

Traffic troubles in Lorain sparked conversation about how the city should manage stoplights on Broadway and lane lines on Erie Avenue.

On Dec. 4, Lorain City Council heard from a resident asking about the traffic lights. Mayor Chase Ritenauer also commented on the changes to traffic lanes on U.S. 6, which is Erie Avenue in the city and which was resurfaced this year.

Resident Sean Schmidt was allowed to speak about his Nov. 29 email to Council. In it, he asked how the city justified removing stoplights along Broadway.

At Council, Schmidt described a situation in November in which he, his girlfriend and her grandson nearly were struck by a

speeding car as they tried to cross Broadway to get to the Lorain Palace Theater.

“He hit the brakes just in time or else we wouldn’t be here talking about this tonight,” Schmidt said. “It was scary.”

He argued public safety would increase if the traffic light was there and more stoplights were on Broadway to slow down drivers.

“If the streetlights aren’t there, people are going to fly down Broadway,” Schmidt said. “And I thought the intent of this administration was to revitalize Broadway. But nobody’s going to look and stop and look at restaurants and businesses if they can do 45 miles an hour through there.

“I know the speed limit is 25 (mph), but that doesn’t get paid attention to,” he said. “If they don’t have a stop sign or a stoplight, they just go.”

Schmidt predicted sooner or later, Lorain will face a tragedy due to the traffic problems.

Schmidt was the latest among city residents who at times have voiced concerns to Council about removal of traffic lights around Lorain, a project that now has lasted several years.

In July 2013, the Lorain administration began pondering a study by URS Corp. to examine whether the city needed traffic signals along the corridors of Broadway and East 28th Street.

That study ruled there was not enough traffic to keep the stoplight at West Sixth Street and Broadway.

In a November 2013 meeting of Council’s Streets & Utilities Committee, resident Phil Dore expressed his concerns about lines of sight for drivers pulling out onto Broadway.

Dore, a retired fire chief and safety director for the city, now is chief of staff for Mayor Chase Ritenauer.

Plans for a new streetscape plan to revive Broadway also include design details to slow down traffic and improve sight lines along the street, Dore said.

In the streetscape plans, a three-way stop is planned at the intersection of West Sixth Street and Broadway, said City Engineer Dale Vandersommen. Near the Palace Theater, pedestrians will have a shorter crossing distance and drivers will park their cars further back, which should improve visibility, he said.

Usually Council calls for public comment on issues during their committee meetings. On Dec. 4, Council split 6-5 in their vote to allow Schmidt to speak on the agenda.

Council members Mary Springowski and Angel Arroyo Jr. argued Schmidt should be allowed to speak. Councilman Joshua Thornsberry suggested Council instead hold a committee meeting to allow more people to come out and share their concerns about the traffic lights.

Relating to traffic, Springowski questioned the advisability of new traffic lines on East and West Erie Avenue, especially new bicycle lanes on East Erie Avenue from the Black River to the city’s eastern line with Sheffield Lake.

“People are just concerned about the traffic pattern changes and that they really didn’t have enough advance notice,” she said.

Ritenauer noted the U.S. 6 resurfacing was overseen by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

He conceded a sign needs to be changed guiding eastbound traffic over the Charles Berry Bascule Bridge. The sign guided drivers crossing the bridge to merge right, but with the new traffic lines, drivers must merge to the left.

“We will get that sign changed,” Ritenauer said.

“I’ve talked to a number of people, pro and con,” the mayor said. “Like any change, it’s going to take some weeks of driving and you’ll get used to it. But it is something different for sure when going that way, as well as the new bike lanes.”

There are people who don’t like the lanes, Ritenauer said. But people might be surprised that some residents have called to say Lorain should be “multimodal,” with various accommodations for drivers, walkers and cyclists, he said.

“I know some people don’t like them,” Ritenauer said about the bike lanes. “But I think it is the way of the future, the way that you’re going to continue to see the state push.

“On that note, I think some additional signage is warranted and we’ll get that going,” he said.

“If the streetlights aren’t there, people are going to fly down Broadway,” Schmidt said. “And I thought the intent of this administration was to revitalize Broadway. But nobody’s going to look and stop and look at restaurants and businesses if they can do 45 miles an hour through there.” — Lorain resident Sean Schmidt