Strasburg Council approves third lane along Wooster Avenue
STRASBURG (WJER) (May 18, 2022) – North Wooster Avenue through Strasburg will be getting a designated lane up the middle for drivers needing to make lefthand turns.
Mayor Steve Smith proposed the change, which council members approved Tuesday evening. He says the Ohio Department of Transportation is paying for the work which will be completed sometime this summer.
“It’s whenever they come in to do the repaving. They were waiting on our call, our decision here. Now, I will make a call to ODOT tomorrow and let them know that we’re moving forward.”
The plan council approved will narrow the driving lanes to 12 feet in both directions between the corporation limits and eliminate some of the streetside parking spaces. A couple of residents concerned about it putting traffic dangerously close to the sidewalks and their homes suggested leaving the lanes as is through the residential areas, but Smith claimed that going from three lanes to two and back would confuse drivers.
“Basically, what you’re saying now then is it’s all or nothing. You will not come to the table to compromise with us, the people that do not want it but were willing to compromise and say, ‘Oh, let’s try to have a turn in the busiest parts where they’re needed the most.”
Two members – Liz Dreher and Marty Zehnder – voted against the proposal, which was the same one council discussed last year and decided not to move forward with. Smith brought it back up a couple of meetings ago as a way to alleviate traffic congestion and reduce the number of accidents occurring on that street.