Discussions continued June 10 between the Chester Township Trustees and residents of Whiting Drive and Reserve Lane in the debate over whether to connect the two roads.
Discussions continued June 10 between the Chester Township Trustees and residents of Whiting Drive and Reserve Lane in the debate over whether to connect the two roads.
The board met for the third consecutive week on the issue, but after 90 minutes, no final decision was made.
While the two dozen residents who attended last Thursday’s special meeting still opposed the Geauga County Engineer’s Office’s proposal to connect the roads with a paved drive, Trustee Skip Claypool reiterated some action has to be taken despite the options seeming unattractive.
“Continuing something that’s not proper is not the right thing to do,” Claypool said. “We’ve got to fix this.”
As it stands, the turnaround at the end of Whiting Drive that previously allowed vehicles to travel back east on Whiting does not meet the county engineer’s standards.
The three options trustees are considering to fix the issue include: connecting the two roads with a paved drive, making Whiting Drive a cul-de-sac or creating a T-shaped turnaround at the end of Whiting.
Connecting the roads is the best available option because it doesn’t require taking private land from surrounding property owners, Claypool said.
He later acknowledged that by avoiding a blow for a pair of residents, there would still be a shared impact on the remaining homeowners and asked attendees what they think should be put in place if the two roads are connected.
With safety still a top priority for many, reducing traffic and mitigating speeding were points of concern.
Whiting Drive resident Joe Rosenbaum suggested putting speed bumps on the road, which would force drivers to slow down.
A “right turn only” sign would also make it so drivers would have to turn into the cul-de-sac and not turn toward Sherman, Rosenbaum said.
Suggestions for additional signage to discourage traffic were suggested, including placing a “no thru traffic” sign at the entrance of Whiting.
Also unsatisfied with Deputy Engineer Shane Hajjar’s previous suggestion to monitor traffic after the intersection is paved, residents requested creating a baseline study of traffic before any project is started.
This would make it possible to measure increases of traffic and speeding if a connection between the two roads is made.
While construction in the area prevents the police from taking immediate action, Chester Township Police Chief Mark Purchase said the baseline study could begin as soon as next week.
“Doing a traffic study before anything is done is important,” Purchase said.
Committing to beginning the traffic study when it is reasonable for the police department to do so, Claypool promised to make the resulting data available to the public.
While the trustees cannot prevent drivers from traveling down a public road, “we will do whatever we can to discourage traffic,” Trustee Ken Radtke said.
Claypool ended the night by committing to taking the residents’ suggestions to the county engineer and gaining his feedback before the next trustees meeting, June 17.
“We’re going to do the best we can,” said Trustee Joe Mazzurco. “We have to do what’s best for everyone in Chesterland.”
