Data collected by the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) found that the total number of crashes in Greater Akron has continued to trend downward over the past decade, but serious injury crashes have increased.
The AMATS 2022-2024 Crash Report studied 46,576 motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian-related crashes over the three years. The report also identifies 128 high-crash roadway sections and 217 high-crash intersections in Portage and Summit counties and the northeastern portion of Wayne County, which makes up AMATS’ coverage area.
Four of the top 10 high-crash roadway sections are located in Akron, according to the report:
- No. 3: North Main Street (state Route 261) from Olive Street (west) to East Tallmadge Avenue in North Hill.
- No 8: Copley Road (state Route 162) from East Avenue to Diagonal Road/South Portage Path in West Akron.
- No. 9: North Portage Path from Garman Road to Merriman Road in Merriman Hills, the Merriman Valley and Northwest Akron.
- No.10: Copley Road (state Route 162) from Storer Avenue to East Avenue in West Akron.
The intersection of Rhodes Avenue and West Thornton Street in Sherbondy Hill was rated the worst intersection for crashes in the entire AMATS coverage area, with 26 crashes that had a nearly 60% rate of injury.
The intersection of Riverview and Ira roads in Cuyahoga Falls ranked second, with at least one fatal accident associated with the crossroads located inside the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Number of crashes falls below 15,000
A peak number of 16,563 crashes was reached in 2022, and a new low of 14,968 crashes in 2024 — the first time since 2020 that the number of crashes has fallen below 15,000.
A combination of targeted safety improvement projects and increased safety features in new vehicles may be contributing to the decline in crashes, said AMATS Planning Administrator Matt Stewart in a March 26 press release.
Despite the decrease in the number of crashes, accidents resulting in serious injuries increased nearly 19% from 333 to 405 from 2022 to 2024.
AMATS defines a “high crash location” for roadway sections as three or more crashes per mile per year, and intersections as nine or more crashes within the three-year period. At least 30% of the crashes at the location for both roadway sections and intersections must be fatal or injury-related.
The report also found bicycle-related crashes decreased by 23% and pedestrian-related crashes decreased by 20.6% in 2024. In 2024, two of the bike-related crashes and nine pedestrian-related crashes resulted in fatalities.
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