CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — After years of reported crashes at a Cleveland Heights intersection, the city has now installed a temporary solution.
The intersection of Caledonia Avenue and Winsford and Dresden Roads has been the site of 30 crashes since 2010, some resulting in serious injuries or death, according to a City of Cleveland Heights report released in July.
Cleveland Heights Communications Director Mike Thomas told News 5 in October that there was a delay in installing a temporary traffic circle.
He cited challenges with the street’s configuration and spacing requirements, adding that officials ultimately decided to wait on installing the temporary barriers.
“It made no sense as we’d have to remove it before winter,” Thomas said in an email.
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But as of Wednesday, there is now a temporary roundabout bolted into the asphalt.
“We wanted to make sure that we were doing something to give drivers a bit more ease of use when it comes to traveling through that intersection but also will provide a bit more safety when you don't have a whole bunch of stop and go, when you don't have questions about who gets to the intersection first,” Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren said.
I asked the Mayor why now as opposed to a few years ago.
“There's some environmental factors related to our system of government and our willingness here in the administration to be a little bit more bold, a little bit more forward thinking. I was elected with the promise of bringing these things to Cleveland Heights in the first place and so I think it's my responsibility as the mayor to pursue these things aggressively. I think we're more equipped now to buck our trends, do something creative and new in in Cleveland Heights, and I think that's a function of our new government,” he responded.
The funds used for the traffic circle were allocated in the 2024 budget under Traffic Calming.
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Construction was done in-house and by the Public Works Department, according to Seren.
The city will now collect data from the traffic circle and see if a more permanent solution will be better suited.
“We want people to know exactly why we're making the determinations we're making about the priority demonstration projects that we're pursuing next year,” the mayor added.
While residents News 5 has previously spoken with said a roundabout was a must in that area, Randall Hunter said it’s not.
“There's this roundabout here. I don't know why it's here. You're wasting money when we don't have enough street sweepers to street sweep the area that's predominantly black,” he stated.
Hunter said there used to be a stronger police presence in Cleveland Heights as well as crossing guards by Caledonia Elementary, but neither exists anymore. He wishes the money spent on the temporary traffic circle would’ve been spent on those two concerns.
“Michael Jackson made a song: All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us. I have to take it to heart. That's the way we look at it,” Hunter noted. “We are survivors but when we talk, nobody listens.”
The City of Cleveland Heights is seeking feedback from the community on this traffic demonstration. You can submit yours through the Mayor's Action Center on the Access Cleveland Heights app.
"Cleveland Heights people have strong opinions and we wanna hear all of them and then take all of that input into account when we make these decisions," Seren said.
