Safety first: Dalton businesses share concerns with proposed ODOT changes along U.S. 30

DALTON – Between the Putt-N-Stuff off South Kansas Road to the ALE Truck Beds on West Lebanon Road, roughly 242 crashes have occurred along that section of U.S. Route 30 between 2015 to 2019, according to a Corridor Study done by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Following this study, the department is recommending several road changes, ranging from closing medians to creating superstreets, but there are some local businesses that have concerns for what those changes might bring.

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Before the study is finalized and any further steps are taken, ODOT will be hosting a public involvement meeting on June 2 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Dalton Elementary and Middle School cafeteria. The meeting is open to the public so they can ask questions and those not able to attend are able to share their thoughts with an ODOT representative until July 2.

ODOT study and road recommendations

The study done by ODOT looked at 14 intersections and four major driveways along Route 30, also known as East Lincoln Way, and found 46% of crashes, totaling 112, resulted in injury.

One percent, two crashes in total, were fatal while the other 53% resulted only in property damage. The two intersections with the most crashes were Route 30 and state Route 94 with 55 crashes and Route 30 and state Route 57 with 43.

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To help improve safety along these roads, ODOT is recommending several median closures with the addition of two Reduced Conflict U-Turn intersections, RCUTs, and two superstreets.

According to videos from ODOT, these additions would limit cross traffic from side roads on to main roads and can sometimes reduce crashes by 50%.

This crash reduction is also estimated to save $13.7 million in crash-related costs such as emergency and medical services, loss of life and property damages, ODOT Public Information Officer Crystal Neelon wrote in an email

The study also shows the estimated cost to make these changes would be $12.5 million, but Neelon wrote those costs are expected to rise some due to inflation.

Local businesses share traffic concerns and thoughts on ODOT changes

The Dalton Dariette and Haasz Automall of Dalton sit across from each other near the corner of Route 30 and Route 94, one of the intersections studied by ODOT, and there is a traffic light at the intersection.

Automall General Manager Brian Haasz said sometimes traffic will get so backed up on Route 94, also known as South Mill Street, that the driveways for the Automall and Dariette are blocked off.

While Haasz hopes to fix that traffic issue, he and the Dariette are concerned the superstreet and the additional turn lanes it proposes could create problems.

In a Facebook post, the Dariette stated the superstreet would be "a safety issue for bikes, buggies and farm equipment" since they would have to turn right onto Route 30, get into the left lane to make a U-turn just to turn left onto Route 30.

Instead, the Dariette recommended in its post "to add five seconds to the north-bound lane of (Route) 94 and add rumble strips to (Route) 30 to alert motorists to the traffic light.” This proposal is something Haasz also favors since it would allow more cars to pass through at the traffic light.

Reach Rachel Karas at rkaras@gannett.com   

On Twitter: @RachelKaras3 

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: ODOT proposes changes along U.S. 30 to help with traffic flow, crashes