Overview:
Covered by Documenter Amore Hill (notes)
Akron has four of top 10 most dangerous roadways
Sixty-five people were killed in crashes on Akron-area roadways in 2022, according to the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS). Agency officials shared these and other transportation safety findings Jan. 18 with the Citizens Involvement Committee. This group lets the public “weigh in directly on transportation related matters.”
The agency’s full 2024 report, “Traffic Crashes and Safety Performance Measures,” covers data collected from 2020-2022. AMATS handles the distribution of federal transportation funds to cities and municipalities through a variety of programs.
Its region includes about 700,000 people living in Summit, Portage and parts of Wayne counties.
Other key findings in the report include:
- Akron has four of the top 10 (and 11 of the top 25) of the area’s most dangerous road sections. These “high crash roadway sections” are ranked by AMATS based on the number of crashes per mile per year and the percentage of crashes involving fatalities and injuries. The Akron road sections (including their overall ranking from the report) are listed below:
- #3 MLK Boulevard (state Route 59) from the West Market Street overpass to North Broadway Street in downtown.
- #4 Copley Road (state Route 162) from Storer Avenue to East Avenue in West Akron.
- #5 Vernon Odom Boulevard (state Route 261) from Collier Road (Akron corporation line) to Romig Road in West Akron
- #7 Copley Road (state Route 162) from Collier Road to St. Michaels Avenue in West Akron.
- Three people died in 189 bicycle-related crashes during the three-year study period. The injury rate from these crashes was 92%.
- Twenty-four people died in 352 pedestrian-related crashes in the same time period. The injury rate from these crashes was 88.6%.
$2.3 million in federal funds committed to Akron roads, Rubber City Heritage Trail
AMATS officials also announced millions of dollars worth of funding for projects across the region including road resurfacing, roundabouts, and pedestrian projects. The City of Akron will receive a share of the funding for several projects, including:
- Two road resurfacing projects:
- South Main Street, Wilbeth Road to US 224 in Firestone Park, $800,000
- White Pond Drive, Parkgate Avenue to Frank Boulevard in Wallhaven, $400,000
- Rubber City Heritage Trail phase 3, $1.1 million. This project is part of an overall trail system in Summit County, with six miles of trails through Akron. When completed it will link areas on the east and south sides of Akron through an abandoned railway.
