Summit Street to go on a 'diet' north of Point Place to state line
By David Patch / The Blade
Mon, 20 Jan 2020 14:00:00 GMT
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Decades ago, before what are now I-75 and I-280 in North Toledo were finished, Summit Street was a primary route north out of downtown Toledo.
But the four lanes it needed then — two in each direction — are no longer necessary, say Lucas County and city of Toledo officials who plan to put the thoroughfare on a “diet” when its pavement is overlaid later this year.
The Lucas County board of commissioners last week approved an agreement with the city under which Toledo will reimburse the county for the cost of replacing the pavement surface between the city limits and 131st Street in Point Place during a broader project between 131st and the Michigan border.
And when that new surface is paved, pavement now marked for four lanes will be changed to three — with the center lane reserved for vehicles making left turns — plus a bicycle lane on either side.
Mike Pniewski, the acting Lucas County engineer, said the roadway’s reconfiguration will be consistent with similar work done last year on the Michigan side by the Monroe County Road Commission, which also changed the roadway from four lanes to three between Morin Grove Street and Sterns Road.
Reducing the number of lanes should curb speeding that has been a problem ever since the volume of traffic on Summit tapered off decades ago, Mr. Pniewski said.
“We’ve been having complaints from people in Washington Township about Summit and Shoreland [Avenue] for a long time,” he said.
Michael Stormer, the county’s chief deputy engineer, said the work will be done as part of the county’s annual thin-overlay program, which will include six other sections of county-maintained roads.
“We will not have an exact project schedule until the bids are opened and the contractor provides a schedule,” Mr. Stormer said.
The county will manage the entire 0.9-mile project, with the city reimbursing it for the estimated $80,000 cost of work within Toledo’s limits. County funding will come from license fees and gasoline-tax revenue, while the city’s share is to be paid from Toledo’s capital projects budget.
The joint agreement is scheduled to be presented to Toledo City Council for its approval this week, said Megan Robson, a city spokesman.
“From an engineering perspective there is no reason to be against the county on their plans,” she said.
The city has similarly reduced other four-lane streets in Toledo to three plus bike lanes in recent years, including parts of Detroit Avenue and Bancroft Street.
Reducing Bancroft to three lanes from four between Parkside Boulevard and Westwood Avenue attracted some criticism during public meetings about that project, but Ms. Robson said no complaints have been received since the project’s completion “and field reviews have not shown any traffic problems.”
Ms. Robson offered no predictions about any other places where Toledo might consider putting wider streets on “road diets.”
“The Division of Transportation continuously reviews traffic flow patterns throughout the city and will make recommendations for lane modifications where appropriate,” she said.