Thursday, October 8th, 2015
City study shows signal justified for access road
Traffic flow meets standards in area of Menards, Walmart
By William Kincaid
CELINA - A traffic study of Havemann Road and the access road between Walmart and Menards supports putting a traffic signal at the intersection, city safety service director Tom Hitchcock said.
A follow-up study of the intersection of Myers Road and Meadowview Drive, however, does not justify a traffic signal based on Ohio Department of Transportation guidelines, Hitchcock said.
The findings will soon be presented to city council members who will decide whether to install a traffic signal at the Havemann Road intersection. Hitchcock estimates installing the signal would cost between $100,000 and $150,000. ODOT pays for traffic signals only on state roads, Hitchcock noted.
Council members could still move to install a traffic signal at Myers Road and Meadowview Drive but since the intersection doesn't meet any of the nine state standards for traffic control devices, a light could put the city at risk in the event of an accident.
The city's engineering department last month led a 16-hour traffic study of Havemann Road and the private access road between Walmart and Menards, Hitchcock said. The study, taken on a Tuesday last month, supported warrant No. 2 of the state manual: four-hour vehicle volume.
The study, Hitchcock said, found that during four-hour periods on an average day, the total traffic on Haveman Road in both directions and the corresponding number of vehicles per hour on the access road all surpass the applicable state requirements.
The number of vehicles per hour on Haveman Road, according to the city engineering study, varied from 727 to 931, while the number of vehicles per hour on the private drive between Walmart and Menards varied from 197 to 252.
Drivers have difficulty turning left onto Havemann Road from the drive without a traffic signal, some council members said.
This summer, a traffic study of the intersection of Myers Road and Meadowview Drive did not warrant either a traffic signal or a four-way stop, Hitchcock had said.
Led by Toni Slusser, a group consisting of homeowners and businesses in northeast Celina recently petitioned city council to install traffic signals or a four-way stop at the intersection, claiming chronic traffic congestion and safety concerns.
The 16-hour traffic study included a two-hour timeframe in the afternoon when children are released from school but did not include the two-hour period in which they walk to school.
Councilman Fred LeJune recommended another traffic study this fall of the two hours in which children walk to and from school.
When city officials came back for the follow-up study they found that five children crossed the intersection on their way to school during a two-hour period, Hitchcock said.
State standards mandate that a minimum of 20 schoolchildren use the school crossing on a major street during the highest crossing hour to warrant a traffic light.
