The City of Strongsville felt so strongly about the traffic problems at Ohio 82 and Howe Road that their state representative, Tom Patton, bypassed the normal channels and mandated that an Interstate 71 interchange be built at Boston Road.
If Strongsville’s traffic problems at this location are because half of the traffic is from Brunswick -- as Patton asserts -- a Boston Road interchange would fix that.
However, Strongsville’s own study showed that each of the five proposed configurations of a Boston Road interchange -- three miles south of the congestion -- will still result in a “poor/failing rating” for the Ohio 82/Howe Road intersection and will slow down traffic on I-71 southbound north of Ohio 82.
Even ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks stated that “the study did not provide an obvious solution to reduce congestion and decrease crash frequency.”
Yet Strongsville recently authorized the massive redevelopment of South Park Mall, located at this problem intersection, to include hotels, breweries, medical facilities, ballfields, etc. -- without any plan for traffic mitigation.
The increased tax revenue this brings must also be tempered with the responsibility to ensure adequate infrastructure to manage the increased traffic.
Instead, Strongsville shrugs -- why take any responsibility for the traffic problems they have created when they can just blame their neighbor?
Sue Krejci,
Brunswick