New turning lanes proposed in $3.7M Howland intersection improvement
People who drive and walk along a busy crossroads in Howland Township are being invited to comment on a $3.7 million proposal to make the corner safer.
The Ohio Department of Transportation has created an online “virtual open house” where people can learn about and give their opinions on plans to improve the intersection of State Route 46 and Warren Sharon Road in Howland Township.
The open house link may be found here.
With as many as 10,000 cars and trucks traveling through the area daily, ODOT says the intersection has been consistently ranked as a safety priority. A total of 90 crashes occurred at the intersection from 2012 to 2016. Of those 90 crashes, 23% resulted in an injury, with two incapacitating injuries occurring over those 4 years.
The predominant crash types were rear-end, sideswipe-passing, and angle crashes. The crash pattern peaked during the midday period, between the hours of 11 am and 3 pm, with 42% of the crashes occurring during that time period.
ODOT says the primary contributing factor to crashes at this intersection was drivers following too closely, accounting for 58% of all crashes. Failure to yield was the next most common contributing factor, accounting for 16% of all crashes.
The lane widths vary, and some do not line up with their receiving lanes on the other side of the intersection, this may also contribute to the crashes, specifically for sideswipe-passing crashes.
Pedestrians walking in the area currently can use a sidewalk next to Warren-Sharon Road. However, the sidewalk is not connected in all areas and has frequent gaps. There is no well-defined sidewalk on State Route 46.
The marked crosswalks at the intersection have pedestrian signal lights and pushbuttons. However, pedestrian accommodations do not meet Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.
Several pedestrian pushbuttons are located within landscaped areas of corner businesses, beyond the reach of the paved sidewalk. The sidewalk does not extend to where the pedestrian pushbutton is located, making it difficult for those in wheelchairs or with other physical disabilities to access the pedestrian signal button.
The Proposal:
The project being proposed would construct northbound and southbound right-turn lanes on State Route 46, extending the existing northbound, southbound, and westbound left-turn lanes to be able to handle backups from the intersection during peak traffic times.
Additionally, the project will reconstruct and upgrade the existing traffic signal to l include the addition of emergency vehicle preemption allowing emergency vehicles to disrupt a normal traffic signal cycle to proceed through the intersection more quickly and under safer conditions. The preemption systems can extend the green light for an emergency vehicle that is traveling through the intersection or replace the phases and timing for the whole cycle.
Improvements also include constructing wheelchair accessible sidewalks and curb ramps, pushbuttons that can be accessed from the sidewalk, and pedestrian walk signals with countdowns.
An alternative to that proposal would extend existing left-turn lanes to meet expected backup lengths and add a northbound right turn lane. That plan extends existing left-turn lanes to meet expected back up lengths and adds only a northbound exclusive right turn lane.
This alternative also includes the same additional improvements including reconstructing the existing signal, adding emergency vehicle preemption, and constructing ADA accessible pedestrian accommodations. The only difference is that the first plan would construct a Southbound right turn lane, where the alternative does not.
Two other alternatives; widening of SR 46 through the intersection to a 5-lane section with shared thru right turn lanes or turning the intersection into a roundabout were rejected by ODOT because of large property, building, and utility impacts, and lower benefit to cost ratios.
See details below: