OTTAWA HILLS, Ohio — Missy Synder has lived in Ottawa Hills for years. It's always been quiet, but construction on the Central Avenue bridge that began Monday is changing that. The construction-imposed detour means more cars on her street for the next five months.
"I had to wait many minutes to pull out of my driveway this morning and so did my kids when they left for school," Snyder, who lives off of Central Avenue on Riva Ridge Road, said. "It's actually kind of scary because it's going to get dark really quick."
The neighborhood doesn't have streetlights or sidewalks, making it a potentially dangerous situation for people who are active.
"There's a lot of runners in the neighborhood," Snyder said. "The Glass City Marathon is coming, so a lot of the runners are coming through. The course runs through the neighborhood."
Just south of Riva Ridge on Derby Road, Wahid Sediqe is worried about his children and speeding cars.
"People who are not from the neighborhood, but they're taking a detour and they're not paying attention," Sediqe said. "They're going fast trying to make up for that blockage in the traffic, whatever time they think they lost. They're not going to be paying attention."
But Sediqe is keeping it all in perspective. While increased traffic on a road that typically sees little traffic can be bothersome, aside from potentially dangerous drivers, it's a minor issue at best and is something that can easily be prepared for.
"We have it, in this village, and in this part of the world in general, a lot better," Sediqe said.
The Central Avenue bridge is scheduled to be under construction for five months.