Traffic congestion findings presented in I-71 regional transportation study for Brunswick and Strongsville area

BRUNSWICK — Brunswick and Strongsville city officials along with community members from the region learned more about traffic congestion around Interstate 71 in both cities during a public meeting at the Brunswick Recreation Center on Thursday. The latest transportation budget required the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Northeast Ohio Coordinating Agency to conduct a regional transportation study of the I-71 corridor from Center Road to the south, from West 130th Street to the east and from Pearl Road to the north and west since the road curves. Marie Keister is with the consulting team working with NOACA and ODOT to do the study. She said Thursday's meeting was to discuss the problem and listen to the public's comments rather than present solutions. NOACA Executive Director Grace Gallucci said that since 1984, the I-71 corridor has been studied multiple times with a focus on specific infrastructure proposals. The current study is different because it has a broader scope to look at congestion, mobility and access using a regional approach. "This is a new study, a blank slate," she said. "All viable solutions will be explored. There is no predetermined outcome. I couldn't tell you right now what direction this study is going into." Dave Becker, the consultant project manager, said that more than 2,000 crashes occurred in the 27-square-mile study area over the last three years. "Of those crashes, we had almost 41 percent that were rear-end type crashes," he said. "Those types of crashes are typically associated with heavy congestion. The good thing about that is, if we improve traffic conditions, we can reduce that number of crashes significantly." Traffic counts were completed and then projected to estimated traffic counts for 2050. The data was put into traffic analysis software, and drone and helicopter videos were taken of traffic in September. The following areas were identified as areas of concern: I-71 and state Route 82 interchange Howe Road and state Route 82 Howe Road corridor where the lane drops U.S. 42 and state Route 82 W. 130th Street and state Route 82 I-71 and state Route 303 area I-71 and U.S. 42 interchange W. 130th Street and Grafton Road Grafton Road and N. Carpenter Road Drake Road and Hunt Road Congestion was scored on an A through F system. Keister said an A rating is like when a car is one of the only cars on the road while an F is very heavy traffic like at the mall around Christmas. "If we were to fix every F and turn it into an A, you know the old song 'We (paved) paid paradise and put up a parking lot,' we'd have asphalt everywhere," she said. "Believe it or not, in urban areas, D is considered acceptable, so we start to really look at areas in E and F." The study looked at intersections, freeway segments and merge points in the area. Most locations were rated at a C or higher during peak morning and evening traffic in 2025. "There's a lot of green and some yellow, but not a bunch of locations that failed miserably," Becker said. "Not to say there isn't congestion. These are actually overall intersection conditions and not reflective of every movement, so you can have movements that aren't great, but overall the intersection is acceptable." Some spots received a lower rating when projected for 2050. The most congested area is around I-71 and state Route 82 at the estimated 2050 evening peak. "That accounts for 35 percent of all the congestion or the delay in our model, but it really only accounts for 10 percent of the traffic," Becker said. "The people driving those roads in this area have 3.5 times the delay of other roads in the area." Public comments will be accepted until Dec. 19, and the entire study must be complete by December 2026. For more information on the study and to submit a comment, visit tinyurl.com/3pj8u9kw. A public meeting is anticipated to be held in the spring, where different alternatives will be presented. Keister said the alternatives will be scored based on the purpose and need of the project and how it addresses traffic congestion. "We'll see where the data takes us," she said. "What I think will happen is there will be some things that will address one area, but there's no silver bullet that fixes everything. We may end up with a basket of strategies, and then it breaks off into different projects that are most viable." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.