PAINESVILLE, Ohio — For the past 18 months, Tom Olson of Mentor has been trying to get a large bank of street lights on State Route 2 in Lake County repaired, he's worried about the safety of his family and thousands of other motorists.
Olson showed News 5 a series of emails he sent to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Lake County Engineer's Office and the Mayor of Mentor, asking them to finally repair a more than a half-mile swath of street lights between the 305 Street exit and the Vine Street exit.
Olson said all the agencies responded quickly to his safety concerns but said very little has been done about the problem that has left thousands of motorists driving in the dark every week.
“I don’t know what more I can do, I’ve already talked to everybody I could talk to, or emailed basically, and everybody says they tried to do stuff," Olson said. "That should be very important, especially for police, what if somebody breaks down and you’re on the side of the road.”
Lake County Commissioner John Plecnik told News 5 he's been trying to get this issue resolved for nearly three years, and contacted ODOT and the Lake County Engineer multiple times in the search of permanent repairs.
“Hundreds of thousands traverse that stretch of Route 2 every week, and having the lights out in long stretches is not safe, Plecnik said. “We need to make sure that we have these lights maintained, and it’s the county engineers' job to keep them maintained.”
News 5 contacted the Ohio Department of Transportation for this story, and it said Ohio is a "home rule" state, citing a special agreement that was set up with multiple cities along that stretch of roadway, making lighting maintenance a county responsibility.
ODOT issued the following statement:
"Lighting is ultimately the responsibility of the Lake County Engineer on SR 2. ODOT would be glad to provide assistance if we were asked to help."
Plecnik said the Lake County Commissioners have asked the county engineer to address the chronic lighting issues but have now turned to the Ohio Auditor of State to provide another layer of repair accountability.
“The county commissioners voted last year to subject the county engineer's office to a performance audit by the Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber," Plecnik said. “I can’t explain why the engineer isn’t capable of working with ODOT so many years into his career, the county engineer owes it to our residents to keep the lights on, it’s not going to be easy, but that’s the job.”
News 5 reached out to the Lake County Engineer's Office, and it responded immediately. The engineer's office would not issue a statement but assured News 5 it is working to solve the problem.
Meanwhile, Plecnik said every time he asked for an update on Route 2 lighting repairs, he was given a wide variety of excuses.
"The responses that I got back were we’re waiting for parts, it’s supply chain issues, and we’re trying to see if we can get FirstEnergy to pay for it," Plecnik said. "I thought those were appropriate responses in year one, but looking back on it, it’s been too long.
If you would like to report lighting or highway issues, you can contact agencies like the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Lake County Engineer's office or your city hall.
News 5 will follow through on this developing story.
