July 18, 1998
Solutions sought to the dangers of US 224
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
Rumble strips on the pavement, lights attached to stop signs, left turn lanes and new signals were among the improvements to intersections along US 224 which were discussed Friday at a public meeting at the Seneca County Sheriff's Office.
State Rep. Rex Damschroder, R-Fremont, the county commissioners and Sheriff H. Weldin Neff hosted a public meeting to address concerns about the highway, focusing on the dangers of intersections east to Tiffin. Local and state officials drove US 224 from SR 100 nearly to Attica to examine the dangers.
''This is not a new issue,'' Damschroder said. ''Recently, it's been getting more attention. When there are more accidents, there is more attention.''
During the meeting, Gordon Proctor, chief of staff for the director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, said the office would issue a report within 90 days, detailing the type, cost and feasability of the improvements which were discussed.
He said the state ranks the 1,000 worst intersections every year, and does site inspections of the worst 350. They are ranked by amount of traffic and number of accidents. Serious accidents and fatalities are weighted heavier in the formula.
Proctor said this year, the US 224/SR 18 intersection was ranked 605, and the US 224/SR 53 intersection was ranked 743. No others along the highway were ranked in the worst 1,000.
The method ODOT uses measures the actual number of accidents and does not take into account the potential for crashes, Proctor said.
One of the reasons improvements are slow in coming is that 90 percent of ODOT's budget is spent on maintanence, and only 8-10 percent on expansions and improvements, he said.
In recent years, with the growth in the country's economy, there has been greater car and truck traffic on the state's roads. Ohio has the fifth-highest volume of traffic in the United States.
Proctor said the raise in Ohio Turnpike toll fees has directed more traffic to US 224.
''So what we have is more traffic on the same size roads,'' Proctor said.
Numbers:
Neff said there have been only two fatalities this year on US 224, one at SR 19 and another at SR 587. The mild winter and strong enforcement efforts by deputies and state patrol troopers were responsible for lowering this year's fatal crashes, he said.
''The goal is to make US 224 a safer roadway,'' said Sgt. Chet Engle, from the Fremont Post of the OSP.
During the last four years, there have been 10 fatal accidents on US 224, with 11 deaths, he said.
There were two each at the US 224/SR 67 and the US 224/SR 19 intersection, he said.
Of those fatal accidents, 66 percent involved failure to yield the right of way and 22 percent involved left of center violations, Engle said. These citations generally indicate driver error, not necessarily poor road conditions or construction, he said.
However, 22 percent involved alcohol and/or drug use, he said.
Tiffin intersections:
During the meeting, officials and citizens discussed remedies for the various intersections, focusing on those south of Tiffin which are becoming more congested as the city grows.
Damschroder said he ate breakfast Friday morning at Mary and John's Restaurant in Tiffin. In discussing the upcoming meeting with some of the patrons, he found they felt strongly that the intersection of US 224 and SR 231 needed stop lights.
''It seemed like nine out of ten, if not everybody, would like a light there,'' he said. ''This is the biggest complaint of the people from Tiffin.''
One of the reasons for the concern is the new development north of the highway and south, toward Lake Mohawk. Also, SR 231 is a direct access route to Tiffin from Sycamore.
During the meeting several possibilities were discussed, including stop lights, a left turn lane, or both.
Citizens said drivers trying to turn left hold up traffic coming from and going to Tiffin. The other drivers who want to go straight become frustrated, leading to overly aggressive attempts to cross the highway.
Ultimately, Damschroder suggested a stop light would be the best alternative. He also suggested coordinating additional traffic lights at SR 231 and CR 19 with those in place at SR 18, SR 53 and SR 100 to allow traffic to flow through the area.
County intersections east of Tiffin:
Both fatalities in the last four years at the US 224/SR 19 intersection involved drivers not stopping at the stop signs, Engle said.
Although the intersection has stop signs and prepare-to-stop signs, it was discussed that rumble bars and flashing lights atop the stop signs would be helpful to get the attention of the drivers.
''It pulls your attention to the sign,'' said County Engineer James Nimz. ''There is a lot of sign clutter in the area.''
The same improvements were discussed with reference to the SR 67 intersection, as well as perhaps re-grading the roads.
County road intersections:
Although the state highway intersections have had the most fatal accidents, the officials also paid particular attention to the intersection with CR 23. Neff and Engle said there were not many accidents there, but the visibility is very poor, especially on westbound left turns from US 224.
Engle measured the distance from the intersection to the top of the hill to the its west which blocks the view. It was 288 feet.
He said a car traveling at 55 miles per hour moves at 80 feet per second, and the average motorist has a reaction time of 1.5 seconds when trying to brake. This leaves a motorist about 2 seconds to stop a vehicle when there is something &emdash; or someone &emdash; in its path.
Officials discussed grading the hill, but said it could be difficult to do without distrubing private property.
The danger of the US 224/CR 19 intersection has much in common with the CR 23 intersection. Both have hills which limit visibility. A traffic light or a stop sign at CR 19 was discussed as a solution.