Representatives from the Ohio Department of Transportation District 7 host a public meeting next month to solicit community input on the installation of a traffic control roundabout at state routes 47 and 235 in Pleasant Township — a crossroads generally considered to be among the most dangerous in the state.
A public open house begins at 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 4, inside the Indian Lake High cafeteria, 6210 N. State Route 235, Lewistown, as ODOT representatives consider the “proposed safety improvement,” for that intersection.
Local and state elected officials, public servants and Indian Lake-area stakeholders were told Friday during the annual Indian Lake Legislative Luncheon that replacing the blinking light that hangs across S.R. 235 and stop sign at S.R. 47 with a roundabout would greatly reduce the number of serious crashes at that intersection.
In an address during Friday’s luncheon, Randy Chevalley, district manager for ODOT District 7, which encompasses Logan and west-central Ohio counties, recounted a process from about eight years ago when ODOT announced plans to install a roundabout at the intersections of state routes 235 and 41 in Clark County.
“We caught all kinds of heck for installing that roundabout, but as law enforcement have said, they haven’t had to put a white sheet on anyone since the intersection was changed,” Chevalley told full room inside the Light House, 121 Orchard Island Road, Russells Point.
“Changing the intersection has reduced fatalities there to zero.”
The March 4 open house begins with a brief project update at 4 p.m., to be followed by opportunities for citizens to comment or ask questions. Afterwards, attendees will have an opportunity to speak directly with project managers until about 6 p.m.
In the face of steadily rising numbers of distracted driving crashes, ODOT personnel have also begun taking a more active role in the public awareness campaign around distracted driving — an initiative that includes a presence in high schools and a public education push highlighted by a safe driving pledge.
The number of traffic crashes and deaths involving distracted driving has increased each year since 2013, ODOT reports.
“Distracted and impaired driving is a choice, and the crashes are 100 percent preventable,” Chevalley said. “You are 23 times more likely to crash while texting and driving.”