Digesting Huron's road diet plan

HURON — Huron officials, quite literally, highlighted how they could make permanent improvements to the city's busiest corridor. This week, staff members sent the Register tentative plans for a sizable transformation along Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) between Berlin Road and Williams Street in hopes of better protecting pedestrians and slowing down commuters. Among the more notable proposed changes, which might arrive as soon as later this year: a green-painted, on-street, 6-foot-wide bicycle lane and bollards, or divider posts, providing better separation between motorized and non-motorized traffic. Already, city officials reduced the roadway in this area from four lanes to three. In some areas, there is a center turn lane. It's the final piece of an initial $2.7 million corridor overhaul, which included paving about 1 mile of street and reconfiguring the Berlin Road intersection. A second phase aims to improve sections from Williams Street westward. "Both from a local and regional standpoint, the need to create safer pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure along this corridor is evident," Huron city manager Matt Lasko said. "The road-diet concept is a creative solution that achieves that mission while also efficiently serving the vehicular traffic needs of the corridor." Digesting the road diet in bite-size pieces Mike Spafford, Huron's assistant to the city manager, who's directly overseeing this initiative, offered up some information: • Background: "Last fall, as crews finalized the U.S. 6 paving project, city officials decided to modify the traffic layout along the corridor to try out what's referred to as a 'road diet,' a concept in which the number of vehicular lanes are reduced in favor of the addition of bike lanes." • Flip-flop: "When first explored in 2017, the bike lanes were removed from the project based on the initial concerns of traffic capacity, however, after experiencing a simulation of the traffic pattern while the project was under construction, officials revisited the concept, ultimately deciding to put the traffic pattern in place on a trial basis." • Trial period: "Typically, with major construction projects, the public is not afforded the opportunity to physically experience the proposed modification. Opinions have to be derived from pictures and technical engineering analysis. By implementing the road-diet configuration on a trial basis, the public has been able to experience the impact of the new layout and utilize the bike lanes in the real world. The trial run has the added benefit of providing city council with actual field data to assist with the final decision on whether or not implement the plan on a permanent basis." • Benefits: "Road diets, in general, are advantageous for multiple reasons: — Most importantly, the reduction of lanes results in lower speeds and improved connectivity by providing non-vehicular modes of transportation. — Data from studies conducted on U.S. 6 showed the average rate of speed prior to the road diet was 44 mph, 9 mph over the posted speed limit. The reduction of lanes helps calm traffic to bring the average speed down which, in turn, improves safety. — Additionally, as highlighted in both the city's master plan and Erie County's long-range transportation plan, U.S. 6 was prioritized as a key corridor to include bike and pedestrian modes of transportation should the opportunity arise. The road-diet treatment provided an opportunity to reutilize traffic lanes no longer necessary based on traffic volumes into a quality-of-life asset for the city's residents and visitors." • Feedback: "A design package, highlighting the changes to be made, has been published on the city's website for public review. The design choices that were included are based on the data and feedback received over the past few months." • Review process: "City council intends to use the balance of the summer to review the design proposal with a final determination to come later this summer. The administration is prepping for implementation in September or October of this year." • Speak up: "City council continues to solicit feedback from the community and encourages everyone to review the design proposals. The plan can be found on the city's website. To provide feedback, you can either email citymanager@huronohio.us or call the dedicated phone line at 419-433-5000, ext. 1105, and leave a voicemail."