New traffic-calming devices will be installed throughout Akron this year in an effort to continue to slow drivers down, particularly in residential areas.
Akron City Council approved $500,000 to purchase speed tables, solar signs, raised crosswalks and other equipment, said Chris Ludle, the city’s director of public service, at the March 9 Public Service Committee meeting.
The traffic calming measures are meant to lower drivers’ speed and improve road safety for both drivers and pedestrians.
“Safer streets are a core part of building a safer Akron,” said Mayor Shammas Malik in a news release Wednesday. “Through this investment, we are working alongside residents to calm traffic, prevent accidents, and create neighborhoods where people feel more comfortable walking, biking, and spending time outside.”
The city will install between two and four rubber speed tables that will be kept up through the winter. Thirteen additional permanent asphalt speed tables are scheduled to be put in place in late June or early July, the release said.
Asphalt speed table locations
| Location | Ward | Limits | Quantity | |||
| Aqueduct | 1 | Between Edgerton Road and Memorial Parkway | 2 | |||
| Gorge Boulevard | 2 | Between Easton Drive and Easton Drive | 2 | |||
| Thornton Street | 3 | Between Manchester Road and Schumacher Avenue | 2 | |||
| Storer Avenue | 4 | Between Copley Road and Stadelman Avenue | 2 | |||
| North Firestone Boulevard | 7 | Thornapple Avenue to Girard Street | 1 | |||
| South Firestone Boulevard | 7 | Thornapple Avenue to Girard Street | 1 | |||
| Ridgewood Road | 8 | Between Schocalog Road and Barnstable Road | 2 | |||
| Battles Avenue | 9 | Between 22nd Street and East Avenue | 1 | |||
The installations, Ludle said, will be rolled into the resurfacing program.
The city will also spend $25,000 on raised crosswalks, which will continue to be piloted this year. The first raised crosswalk was installed last year in front of the Patterson Park Community Center. Ludle said he has received positive feedback about that project from a city employee who lives across the street.
Almost half of the $500,000 will be used to purchase 40 new solar speed limit signs, an addition to the 40 solar signs already installed in Akron. These will be ordered soon, the city said Wednesday, and installed this summer. Some of the current solar signs may be relocated, Ludle said, and new ones will be added to an additional 20 streets.
Stay up to date: Read our recent coverage on road safety, Five of the area’s most unsafe roadways and intersections are in Akron. See the list of the worst from AMATS
Solar sign locations
| Location | Ward | Limits | ||
| Beck Avenue | 1 | Between West Market Street and Payne Avenue | ||
| North Street | 1 | Between West Street and North Maple Street | ||
| East Glenwood Avenue | 2 | Between Howard Street and state Route 8 | ||
| East Glenwood Avenue | 2 | Between state Route 8 and Tallmadge Avenue | ||
| Allyn Street | 3 | Between Wheeler Street and Thornton Street | ||
| Lakeshore Boulevard | 3 | Between Long Street and Ira Avenue | ||
| South Hawkins Avenue | 4 | Between Slosson Street and Stoner Street | ||
| Winton Avenue | 4 | Between Stoner Street and Courtland Avenue | ||
| Bellows Avenue | 5 | Between Baird Street and Stanton Avenue | ||
| Fuller Street | 5 | Between 5th Avenue. and McKinley Avenue | ||
| Massillon Road | 6 | Between Seiberling Way and Triplett Boulevard | ||
| Mogadore Road | 6 | Between East Market Street and Canton Road | ||
| Hammel Street | 7 | Between North Firestone Boulevard and Wilbeth Road | ||
| South Firestone Boulevard | 7 | Between East Catawba Avenue and Waterloo Road | ||
| Frank Boulevard | 8 | Between Schocalog Road and I-77 | ||
| Kenilworth Drive | 8 | Between West Market Street and Radcliff Avenue | ||
| Cory Avenue | 9 | Between Ivor Avenue and Stanwood Avenue | ||
| Nesmith Lake Boulevard | 9 | Between Koerber Avenue and Waterloo Road | ||
| Eastland Avenue | 10 | Between Nutwood Road and Brittain Road | ||
| Sparhawk Avenue | 10 | Between Caddo Avenue and Brittain Road | ||
Speed limit reductions on Albrecht Avenue and Delia Avenue will be put into effect. Three streets will be re-striped (Cuyahoga Falls Avenue, Kelly Avenue and Hazel Street) to help reduce speeds. Two high-accident corridors near Copley Road and in Southeast Akron near Arlington Street will be studied to help determine future action the city takes, the release said.
A portion of the $500,000 will be used for data collection as well. Michelle DiFiore, development engineering manager for the City of Akron, said data has been collected from the solar signs, temporary speed tables and two portable radar trackers that collect various traffic data. The city will eventually provide a report with that data.
