Crashes continue at dangerous Akron intersection: ‘How many times is it going to happen?’

Published: Mar. 28, 2023 at 6:34 PM EDT
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AKRON, Ohio (WOIO) - Back in December, we told you about a dangerous intersection in Akron.

Neighbor say it has caused countless accidents, and the city of Akron has done nothing to make it safer since our story aired.

“They’re supposed to be responsible for our safety,” said Ron Coffman, who lives on Gorge Boulevard. “We’ve obviously shown them a clearly unsafe situation and they’re not doing anything to fix it yet.”

It has been more than three months since Ron Coffman and Joseph Tyuluman-Luciano spoke to the 19 Troubleshooters about the Cuyahoga Falls Avenue exit off of Route 8 that dumps onto Gorge Boulevard..

Coffman and Tyuluman-Luciano both live on Gorge Boulevard and say the dangerous intersection risks peoples lives every day.

Tyuluman-Luciano sent us a security video he captured of a previous accident. It shows a car barreling down the exit ramp, taking out the fence and barely missing a car.

Since then, Tyuluman-Luciano says he’s seen at least three more accidents. He’s got the pictures to prove it.

“There were two that ended up, the two Cadillacs that lost control and then another one that took out this light pole that they just put up today,” said Tyuluman-Luciano.

When we called Akron’s Traffic Engineering Division in December, they told us they’d put up signs as cars approached the exit ramp warning of the sharp curve early 2023.

But neighbors are still waiting.

“They haven’t done a thing,” said Coffman. “They haven’t done a thing. I get off here on a regular basis. There’s no new signs, no new painting. Nothing at all.”

So we called the city back Tuesday to get an update on their plans.

We received an email reading in part, “The latest update I’ve received is that we are finalizing the preparations for some traffic control improvements (signage and marking upgrades) on the exit ramp, so those should be implemented this Spring.”

Encouraging news, but as always, the 19 Troubleshooters will stay on the city until the people who live on Gorge Boulevard see results.