LAKEWOOD, Ohio — The intersection of Hilliard Road and Madison Avenue has proven problematic as it has become more accident-prone.
In December, former Cleveland 19 reporter Bill Safos was struck and killed by a vehiclenear the intersection of Madison Avenue and Orchard Grove, just a few dozen feet from Hilliard Road, on Dec. 11, when a "reckless" driver hit him.
The driver, in that case, was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.
The crash resulted in a personal injury lawsuit that claimed the driver was going 47 mph in a 25 mph zone.
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Following that, in March, a father and his two toddlers were struck by a vehicle while cycling through the Hilliard and Madison intersection.
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Two toddlers were injured on March 24 in a crash involving a bicycle with a child carrier and a vehicle at the Madison and Hilliard intersection, according to the Lakewood Fire Department.
"It's really scary because these recent crashes, they could have been us," Lakewood cyclist Robby Organ said.
Organ and his wife, Cassie, are everyday cyclists.
"There's a really strong bike community here, so it's nice to go riding, running an errand, then we bump into a friend, and it definitely is something special to this community. It definitely makes me feel like I'm part of it," Cassie stated.
However, the couple describes the Hilliard and Madison intersection as "stressful."
"We're on the corner of two very busy main thoroughfares, so there's a lot of traffic. There's always an opportunity for drivers to not be paying attention and something goes wrong," Organ shared. "A lot of close calls at this intersection and a few others in town."
Within two weeks of that accident, the City of Lakewood is taking action.
"We've already got those plastic delineator poles that's new. People were confused and routinely would use that as a turn lane and the city put up a sign over there, but you don't see unless you really armor up on here's a sign, here's the striping, here's a pole," Lakewood City Councilman-At-Large Tom Bullock told me.
The Organs said they're happy about the new poles, but they explained it's only a temporary solution.
"That gives a little bit more of a visual cue to drivers that those spaces are for bicyclists, but that's not going to stop somebody that's texting and driving, somebody that is drunk, not paying attention, whatever from going into the bike lane and hurting somebody. It's really scary," Organ said.
Organ called the poles a "baby step" in the right direction.
While standing by the intersection with Bullock Friday afternoon, two vans were illegally parked in the bicycle lane. Several drivers also still rode through the Hilliard bike lane or used it as a turn lane.
"We gotta get serious. There's a number of things to improve on the actions," Bullock said.
Lakewood aims to tackle the four Es: engineering, enforcement, education, and encouragement.
Lakewood Police are already out in full force near the busy intersection.
According to Bullock, Lakewood Police have already written 19 citations over the last weekend.
"Some of that might be for speeding, some of that might be a wrong turn. Not all of it's the same thing, but better attention by motorists is a good thing, right? We gotta take it seriously," Bullock stated.
To hit the engineering portion of this plan, Bullock said the city will conduct a months-long traffic study to see where else improvements need to be made.
What appears to be green paint will also be brushed onto the asphalt to signal bicycle lanes for drivers.
"It's tougher than paint. As soon as the weather allows us to put it down, which should be soon, it's attention grabbing," Bullock said. "You could put a curb. That's not called for in the plans right now, but that could be a future option where you have a real physical barrier."
As for education, Bullock explained it's more of a memo for drivers to stay off their phones, pay attention to the road, and give cyclists more room.
"Finally, there's encouragement, which is how to safely get out of your vehicle and be a pedestrian or a cyclist, right? People will do that more if they feel safe. They won't do it if they don't feel safe and if enough of us are safely out, they call it critical mass, then it becomes normal," Bullock shared.
"Do you think with all these ideas that the mayor's office and the city council has that you'll be able to save lives moving forward?," I asked Bullock.
"That's the goal, okay? And not only that but reduce injuries, reduce the likelihood of injuries and encourage people to feel like they would want to come out because it's pleasant, it's safe," Bullock responded. "We've got to hold ourselves accountable. We've got to push because I think the public did hold us accountable. We're starting to move more quickly and that's a good thing."
Cassie said she hopes these talk of plans are more than just dialogue — that she continues to see physical change.
"I really do commend them for sticking to their word. I do hope this is only the beginning and that they are following through with doing more research in this intersection to find out how we can make this more permanent," Cassie stated.
The Organs suggested safety infrastructure that wraps around the turns of intersections. Cassie said that way, there's a distinct path for pedestrians and cyclists.
Organ believes a curb or line of trees on the perimeter of the bike lanes would deter drivers from crossing over the boundary.
"We can beautify the space as well while we're doing this, so that would be a much better long term solution," Organ stated. "It takes a lot more planning and costs a lot more, but it's not something that's out of reach for a city like Lakewood. I'm optimistic that we'll get something done, but I would like to see some hard timelines."
In the meantime, the Organs have a message for Lakewood drivers.
"Just because we get around differently than a driver does, we're still people. Being callous or frustrated that you might have to slow down for a few seconds and it might delay getting to your destination by a few seconds, we're talking about a human life versus 30 seconds or so. Calm down, pay attention to what you're doing," Cassie said. "It's somebody's mother, somebody's brother, somebody's sister, somebody's father, somebody's children, and they deserve to get home safely just like every other road user."
Organ added, "This is a community and we should act like one no matter how you choose to get around."
Lakewood City Council will meet on Monday night. One of the many topics to be discussed is the future of traffic safety near the Hilliard and Madison intersection.
