One of the most hazardous stretches of road in Akron lies along South Maple Street, particularly at the sharp curve near Crosby Street.
The manager of Good Company restaurant on South Maple said he, along with his staff and customers, has seen a wide range of accidents—most of them caused by drivers speeding through the area.
“Oh, this corner of Maple, it’s always popping. The restaurant is usually busy and whether they’re coming here or not, they’re flying by,” Tommy Kettel told news sources. “We’ve only been here two years, but the retaining wall next to the school was hit and the playground over there. Even the firehouse garage door has been hit and telephone poles, cars. I’ve seen a car catch fire, I’ve seen all kind of stuff around this corner.”
In response to the crashes and in an effort to get drivers to slow down, the city of Akron installed an asphalt speed table, or speed bump, on South Maple near the sharp turn.
“I think it makes sense. It means children are around, or there’s a highly populated area and you should be aware of your surroundings and slow down,” said Akron resident Anthony Hurt.
“I would think that they’re effective because it kind of causes people to be a little bit more mindful. They don’t want to fly over a bump and sadly it’s because they’re thinking more about their car than other people’s lives, but it does actually slow them down,” Akron resident Alyssa Reed added.
The city has also installed solar-powered speed limit signs in certain neighborhoods that some drivers use as “short cuts.”
“They’re there for a reason and clearly I think with the back roads, people tend to speed as fast as they’re going on the main streets, and it’s actually where most of the accidents happen is these back streets because people are flying and that’s where there’s more stop signs and more people turning different ways,” said Reed.
The city of Akron is now rolling out a major project aimed at slowing drivers down.
Officials have identified eight locations where they will install a total of 13 new speed tables.
Additionally, crews will put up 40 new solar-powered speed limit signs across 20 streets known for speeding problems.
The city describes the $500,000 investment as an effort to “calm” traffic and reduce accidents.
Find a list of the traffic calming locations here or view a map here.
“Our residents feel safer when people are driving the speed limit. You know, they’re looking for safety for their children, they’re looking for safety for their vehicles that may be parked on the street, they’re looking for safety for their pets, and themselves, of course,” said Akron Development Engineering Manager Michelle DiFiore.
In some Akron neighborhoods, the new traffic measures aim to slow drivers on streets near schools.
The ultimate goal of these speed deterrents is to provide peace of mind.
“I think it makes people stop and realize, ‘I’m in an area that I need to slow down in,”‘ Akron resident Steve Clements said. “There are definitely residential areas in this city where people use side streets as a work-around to get away from the major streets, so in that sense, I think Akron has done a good job making people realize that you can’t be driving 50 mph in some of these residential areas.”
Officials say crews will install the new speed tables and speed limit signs over the summer.
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