LORAIN, Ohio — New signage and a new configuration on State Route 6 in Lorain are drawing mixed reactions from residents there. The stretch of road, known locally as West Erie Avenue, is transitioning from four lanes to two lanes, with bike lanes in both directions and a center turn lane.
“It’s just complete chaos. I don’t like the bike lanes,” said Marissa Lyons, who’s lived on West Erie Ave her entire life.
She told News 5 the reduced driving lanes back up traffic almost daily during rush hour and it’s forced her to adjust her route.
“The other day I spent like five minutes here just trying to get out. I was like, ‘F’ this, and I reversed it back into my driveway. Now I reroute, go towards Hamilton and take 4th Street to Broadway,” she said. “I haven’t seen it this backed up since the 4th, honestly. But it’s like this everyday now.”
The mother of three isn’t the only resident frustrated by the new congestion. An online petition calling on the city to reinstate the former 4-lane configuration had gathered 580 signatures by Monday afternoon.
Other neighbors told News 5 they’ve noticed the back-ups but appreciate the new measures slowing down traffic.
“It’s not a bad idea what they did because motorcycles — they come through here, and they get back there, and they just zoom through here like they’re racing that red light. And cars will be speeding on through here,” said Hubert Tolson, who lives in a senior high rise on West Erie Avenue and frequently walks along the busy corridor.
The city says the project was prompted by similar concerns about speeding.
“We’ve had a speed problem for many, many years,” said Rick Soto, the chief of staff for Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley.
Before his current position, Soto served as the traffic commissioner for the Lorain Police Department. He said speeding and safety concerns for cyclists and pedestrians contributed to a similar project on the city’s east side.
“It takes many years of planning and a lot of things go into a road diet,” Soto said.
A road diet is a traffic-calming technique that reduces the number or width of travel lanes. Soto recalled brief traffic delays on the East Side when it was reduced from four to two lanes but said drivers eventually adjusted to the new configuration.
“We’ve had many, many complaints of speeders down West Erie. And as it gets past Leavitt Road, that’s where the complaints really happen. People coming into town are going from 45 mph speed limit to 35 and we’ve had to do a lot of traffic enforcement,” said Mayor Jack Bradley.
He explained the city partnered with the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) in 2018 to create a comprehensive transportation and traffic safety plan. That led to a 2022 ordinance unanimously passed by Lorain City Council to create the road diet for West Erie Avenue. A NOACA grant is funding the project.
“We’re hoping by this road diet, we won’t have to do so much traffic enforcement and it can just slow people down naturally,” said Bradley.
The project will encompass nearly 3.5 miles of State Route 6, between the Charles Berry Bridge over the Black River to the State Route 611 underpass on the city’s West Side. It passes Lakeview Park, where bike paths will tie into the existing Lorain Metro Parks trail system.
Mayor Bradley said he’s already received positive feedback from cyclists who feel safer with a buffered bike lane on the busy corridor. He believes traffic congestion will subside when other road projects, including work on West 21st Street, are completed.
The mayor is asking drivers for patience as they adjust to the new configuration and said the city will be evaluating the effectiveness of the project.
“We want to make sure our pedestrians feel safe on our streets, and that people who bicycle feel safe and also people who are in automobiles feel safe,” Bradley said.
In addition to striping on the roadway, new flashing overhead lights will be installed at crosswalks near Lakeview Park. The project is slated for completion before winter 2024.
