SWANTON TOWNSHIP, OH (Toledo News Now) - In 2012, the Ohio Department of Transportation narrowed State Route 2 at State Route 295 from two lanes on both sides to only one. Now Swanton Township residents are demanding more safety measures.
Residents say ODOT's plan to make the intersection safer only made it worse.
"They took a 4-lane highway and something that was already deemed dangerous, and they took a bad thing and made it worse," said Peggy Michael, Swanton Township Fiscal Officer.
Township residents met with ODOT representatives back in March to voice their concerns. As a result of that meeting, ODOT will submit a safety application to widen the road, at an estimated cost of $1.1 million.
Some residents, however, want to see a traffic light installed, which they say ODOT promised them in 2002.
"They dropped the ball and did not install the traffic light as promised, and we've seen many accidents and fatalities," Michael said.
A spokesperson from ODOT says they can't install a traffic light because there's not enough traffic at the intersection.
So far, there has not been an increase in crashes since the road diet was constructed, but residents say they just want the road returned to the way it was.
"I think it was a little bit safer," said Edithann Longberry. "Yes, we've had rear-end collisions but not head-on collisions."
While ODOT waits on an answer about funding to re-widen the road, LED lights will be installed on four lane-ends signs.
