GEAUGA COUNTY, Ohio — The intersection of Auburn Road and Route 6 is a headache for locals. Most drivers avoid the area because of afternoon backups.
"It can go back half a mile," local John Krizman said. "A mile during certain evenings. Summers get even worse."
Krizman is also the owner of The Little Eagle, a convenience store located right at the intersection. Within the past year, he's taken a dip in sales and noticed less foot traffic coming into the store. He said the changes happened about a year ago when the Ohio Department of Transportation added turn signals at the light to help congestion.
"We used to have rush hours," he said. "Which doesn't really happen any longer just because of the traffic."
Now, Krizman is frustrated.
"I know it should be better," he said. "I know that I have had better times."
While the Auburn Road and Route 6 intersection has been labeled a problem by the community, it's not considered a major problem area by ODOT.
ODOT Public Information Officer Brent Kovacs said project money is dispersed across the state. Intersections with a high number of crashes rise to the top of the department's list of concerns. Auburn Road and Route 6 have not reached that level yet.
"If you're turning left," Kovacs said. "You're getting into a lot of crashes, then you have a trend. If you don't see that trend, then we're going to try and implement other safety measures to hopefully improve the intersection's safety."
ODOT has made changes. In the last two weeks, ODOT has changed the traffic patterns at the intersection. Only West Auburn Road has a left turn signal during the evening rush hour.
Krizman and other locals said they've seen improvement. Still, they wonder about the long term as talks of new housing developments and grocery stores emerge in the area.
"Something has to be done now," Krizman said. "It's not three years from now, four years from now. They have to do something."
If you have any concerns about state roads or highways, ODOT wants to hear from you. Click here to find the contact information for your local ODOT district.
