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Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
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Green High senior goes extra mile for those who walk and jog the park trails
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Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
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NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Blogs:
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Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
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Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
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Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
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Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
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Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
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OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (68) Democrats Secure 60 Votes for Cloture
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Schwebel's pays officer to coordinate traffic
By Bob Dyer
Beacon Journal columnist
Published on Friday, Jan 02, 2009
To all of you folks who were so angry at George Bush that you voted a straight Democratic ticket, thereby cavalierly throwing out of office Summit County's creative and responsive engineer, Greg Bachman:
Check out the Akron Metropolitan Area Transit Study's new list of our 100 most dangerous intersections. Not a single intersection under his jurisdiction is on that list.
Bachman and his staff must have been doing something right these last five years. And does anything rank higher than safety?
Redux
I don't want to say I told you so. So I guess I'll say I wrote you so.
I wrote it to you July 7, 2006, in a column about studies that showed talking on a cell phone while driving is at least as risky as driving drunk.
Here's what I wrote:
''The physical act of holding the phone to your ear is not the problem. The problem is that your mind is somewhere else.''
Well, now. Just two weeks ago, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety put out a 16-page report on cell phones and driving, and one of its key findings was this:
''Studies comparing the risks associated with using hand-held and hands-free cell phones while driving have found them indistinguishable.''
The report also said the same thing I have been telling you for nearly a decade: People who phone while driving are four times more likely to get into a crash.
So let's see . . . a woman who has two glasses of wine before driving can be arrested for being a menace to society, but the same woman is perfectly free to drive through a school zone chatting on her cell, even though we know — absolutely, positively know — that she is putting kids at risk.
That makes just as much sense as a set of laws that require you to wear a seat belt while inside a giant hunk of metal but permit you to ride a wide-open motorcycle at 65 mph without a helmet.
(For the record, I always wear a seat belt, and I'm not lobbying for a helmet law. People should be free to maim themselves in any manner they choose.)
Falls fracas
Bob: Here's another one for you — a quick fix.
Traveling east on Broad Boulevard in Cuyahoga Falls at rush hour is horrific. At the intersections of Broad and Second and Broad and Front, traffic is allowed to turn right on red. It also can turn right on red at the exit of Broad and Route 8.
Then we have the railroad tracks with trains (usually on the quarter hour) blocking all the traffic from the clogged intersections.
To top it off, we have the bakery at the corner with no right on red and trucks blocking traffic even on a green light.
A quick fix would be to post ''No turn on red from 4-6 p.m.'' at the intersections coming onto Broad from the south.
Please help! One of these days someone is going to get smooshed by a train because they're crossing the tracks when traffic that should be moving is at a standstill. It could be me! Then who would read your column?
Esther Amico
Akron
Esther: Well, there are at least two other people who read my column regularly. Of course, both of them work here
and get paid to read it, but still . . .
I hate to disappoint you, Esther, but all three of us tend to favor more right-on-reds, not fewer. And the Cuyahoga Falls traffic dude agrees.
''[That] area is a challenge during rush hours, but it does operate extremely well, all variables considered,'' says Bob Leonard, acting chief technician.
''With regard to the right-on-red issue, if [we] would limit the right-on-red at Second and Front, it would tend to increase the amount of traffic in line eastbound on Broad. Most of this traffic is drivers familiar with the intersections who choose to avoid the wait on Broad and instead slip in line when eastbound gaps appear.''
Moreover, he says, there is a ''no right on red'' sign at the Route 8 North exit to Broad, and also a lighted ''no right on red'' that is activated by rail traffic.
''As to the possibility of someone being 'smooshed' by a train due to traffic backups, both of the traffic signals at the expressway ramp/Broad and at Newberry/Broad are pre-empted by the railroad signals. The signal at Broad/Newberry stops all traffic except eastbound, which allows the traffic to clear the tracks.''
He says the Schwebel's bakery does contribute to congestion because of its loading docks, but the bakery has purchased a small tractor to move around the trailers more quickly. The bakery also pays an off-duty police officer to coordinate trailer movement and traffic.
Leonard says the installation of a concrete rail-crossing last year has greatly improved traffic flow through that section of Broad.
More improvements may be on the horizon.
''There have been, and continue to be, discussions about reopening Main Street to southbound traffic to Howe Avenue,'' he says. ''This would significantly reduce right-turn traffic from Broad to Newberry.''
Those of you who never drive in the Falls may now reopen your drooping eyelids.
Bob Dyer's Streets column appears each Friday. He can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
To all of you folks who were so angry at George Bush that you voted a straight Democratic ticket, thereby cavalierly throwing out of office Summit County's creative and responsive engineer, Greg Bachman:
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Akron, OH
Posted 08:26 AM, 01/02/2009
Attaboy Dyer. With articles like this, y'all will be a shoo-in for the 09 traffic reporter awards.
Akron, OH
Posted 09:06 AM, 01/02/2009
I agree with the cell phone thing. When I was a kid and someone was driving irratically we always said, "are they drunk?" and stay away. Now we say, "they are probably on the phone". The problem is we can't get away because everyone around us is on the phone!!!
I support Dyer in this. Driving while on the phone should be illegal. Driving is a privilege; not a right.
Posted 09:28 AM, 01/02/2009
the info about Bachman may have been useful before we voted. the word anger does not begin to describe what good, thinking people feel about Bush & his people.
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 09:58 AM, 01/02/2009
Speaking of traffic engineering and Cuyahoga Falls, I wonder if Mr. Leonard is the one who decided to put in right-turn signals at 2nd and Portage but no right-turn only lanes. These signals tend to be useless because more often than not people going straight block the way of people wanting to turn right on the green arrow.
And another decision that makes me go, "hmmm?" in the Falls is why a right turn only lane isn't on Portage Trail east bound onto the Rt. 8 South onramp. Again, lots of people wanting to turn right get stuck behind people going straight there...
Posted 10:13 AM, 01/02/2009
Info about Bachman's performance was available before we voted; however, it does require good thinking to be an informed voter.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:34 AM, 01/02/2009
Would anyone like to point out to Esther that plain common sense prevents most people from stopping on railroad tracks, even when a train isn't anywhere to be seen? Note I said "most people". If it's obvious from watching traffic in front of you that you won't clear the tracks, then don't drive forward until you can.
That might involve putting down the cell phone and paying attention though.
Wadsworth, OH
Posted 11:03 AM, 01/02/2009
A new year and another Dyer article with a snarky comment from Betamax. So much for fresh starts...
Posted 12:35 PM, 01/02/2009
Its to bad certain county/local positions have to be associated with a political party. Too many non-politicians loose their jobs when there is an administration change or when voters are fed up with with the current political party in charge.
akron, oh
Posted 01:13 PM, 01/02/2009
Can't that bakery be forced to make building alterations to stop blocking the traffic during green lights, or can those rent a cops not stop green light traffic, which causes the backups onto the tracks? Why do truck drivers come ahead of 75 cars waiting to make a simple right turn? I think I am more important than some teamster....
Akron, Ohio
Posted 03:11 PM, 01/02/2009
The bakery has been there since the 1930s, long before the large amount of traffic volume there is today and brings much revenue to the city. So Lou Szer, I say a teamster is more important. Besides, any alteration would most likely not be feesible.
Akron, OH
Posted 03:27 PM, 01/02/2009
@bowskiboy - the same could be said for y'all. But then again, nuthin' that comes from y'all could ever be considered fresh. Jes' the same ol' troll doin' the same ol' things.
I guess MBA shippin' clerks at FedEx aren't required to be imaginative.
falls, oh
Posted 09:37 PM, 01/02/2009
I love driving by just to smell the bread
Posted 07:12 AM, 01/05/2009
Hmmmm.
For 6 years I communicated, navigated and controlled a high performance Navy fighter. That would include many a time when an approach or departure was done on instruments. This required a constant scan of instruments to be certain I was on heading, altitude and airspeed. I also had to verify engine instruments were within range AND communicate with controllers on the ground or on an aircraft carrier.
I rarely use a cell phone in my car. I can assure you I am still more qualified to control a car while speaking on my phone, than 99% of the population.
Once again we seek a one size fits all solution with yet "another" demand for a law to fix a problem caused by a few who are reckless.
Politicians love to run for office based on the great new laws they have introduced. Will flatulence in public be our next complaint to our elected representatives?
akron , oh
Posted 06:11 AM, 01/07/2009
Greg Bachman's info was out there. The voters instead chose to vote like a bunch of lemmings and follow the pack even it was off a cliff. good job. you all lost a great man and engineer because you were in awe over a man that allowed people to parade cardboard cutoffs of him on west market street chanting his name. bunch of fools and you will reap what you sow.
Posted 07:45 AM, 01/08/2009
Seems like Brubaker has big shoes to fill,wonder how smooth the transition is going. Dyer check it out for us!
Posted 10:41 AM, 01/09/2009
I just had to post a comment after reading the Falls Fracas. I have attached a letter that I sent to the Falls City News Press and was printed, regarding the intersections of Broad Blvd/Newberry St & Tallmadge Rd.
Dear Ladies or Gentlemen:
After witnessing yet another close call with motorists and motorcyclists at the loading dock at the dangerous intersection of Broad Blvd/Tallmage Rd and Newberry Street, I was compelled to write.
I have lived in the Cuyahoga Falls area for 15 years in Ward 2 and it has always baffled me that there is a loading dock on one of the busiest streets in Cuyahoga Falls. I have seen so many near misses that it is not funny. From my understanding, there is supposed to be a police officer directing the traffic for the loading and unloading of the trucks. I have come by quite often and have not seen a police officer there. I am just floored that the city continues to let this dangerous situation continue. If you are not a resident or familiar with this intersection it could become a tragedy just waiting to happen.
Why can’t the city use Community Development Block Grant monies to improve the traffic flow at the Broad Blvd/Tallmadge Rd & Newberry Street intersections? Perhaps revamping Main Street as an alternate route would alleviate this along with the congestion that appears to constantly be stuck on the railroad tracks at this dangerous intersection. Maybe City Council can add this into their five year plan to rebuild the East side of Cuyahoga Falls. This is an entrance for a lot of non-residents to Cuyahoga Falls and this part of town looks so outdated, not to mention dangerous.
Hopefully, something will done before a tragedy occurs at this intersection.
Sincerely,
Lisa Fisher
