Amherst City Council will consider at their March 27 meeting whether to approve making changes to the timing of the traffic signals on state Route 58 between Cooper Foster Park and North Ridge roads.
Amherst Councilman-at-Large Chuck Winiarski, who is chair of Council’s Fire and Safety committees, said the city is working with the Ohio Department of Transportation on the possible changes.
“We plan to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation for upgrades of signal timing equipment for state Route 58 and declaring an emergency,” Winiarski said.
The proposed plan comes in addition to the extensive traffic study done in conjunction with Lorain last year, he said.
According to the study, these intersections are some of the busiest in Northeast Ohio, Winiarski said.
However, these light timings are not a result of the study, but rather a typical upgrade the city is looking into, he said.
Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow said during the March 20 meeting that the city puts a lot of effort into working on timing of these intersections to make sure traffic moves as smoothly as possible.
The Ohio Department of Transportation plans to provide the city with the equipment at both the Kresge Drive and Route 58 intersection as well as the North Ridge Road and Route 58 intersection, officials said.
This equipment costs $10,000, which is a gifted from the Ohio Department of Transportation, but the city will install it.
“We have a contract with Signal Services, who do most of our work,” Costilow said. “It will likely cost the city around $400, which will come from another part of our regular budget if passed.”
The city also plans to continue with upgrades to the area once the traffic study is complete, he said.
“There is a lot of traffic that flows through that corridor, and it is our mission to try and relieve some of the congestion,” Costilow said. “We hope that this proposal will get passed, and will be able to do that.”
