TOLEDO, Ohio — The city of Toledo has announced plans to install several traffic circles off Schneider Road in south Toledo.
These new circles are set to be constructed at three intersections, including:
- Schneider and Royal Haven
- Schneider and Birchwood
- Schneider and Brierheath.
Matt Cherry, the president of the Toledo City Council, said he lived on Schneider for years and would always see cars racing down the street, sometimes doing double the speed limit.
"I witnessed firsthand the activity that happened on Schneider where cars would continuously go 50 or 60 miles an hour sometimes," Cherry said.
On social media, some neighbors called these traffic circles a "waste of money" and noted other intersections that could use the reconstruction instead.
Cherry said the city did have plans for other areas, but so far, those plans haven't worked out.
"There was one that was going to eliminate access from Heatherdowns, where Heatherdowns and Schneider come together, that didn't pan out. There a proposal for us to be a one-way street from Bryne to Heatherdowns, that didn't pan out," he said.
According to reports from Toledo police, from February 9, 2021 to February 9, 2022, there have been 11 crashes involving Schneider Road.
Cherry said he hopes these traffic circles will help resolve the number of crashes and speeding in the area.
"I think a lot of people have associated them with the bigger roundabouts we have in the city and that's not the case; these are much smaller traffic circles that are used in many other parts of the country that are used for slowing down traffic," he said.
Plans indicate construction will start as early as this spring, but an exact start date has not been determined.
In order for these traffic circles to be installed, there will have to be closures in this area come this summer for the intersections to be re-constructed.
Specific details about those closures are still in the works, however, residents can learn more at a public meeting the city of Toledo is hosting Thursday night.
The meeting will be hosted on Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m.