Safety at several Lorain intersections has received renewed attention after two young girls were struck while crossing one of them on their way to the park.
In late August, stop signs were installed to create the city’s latest four-way stop at East 31st Street and Clinton Avenue. The change came one day after two sisters, ages 10 and six, were seriously injured while crossing the intersection to get to nearby Oakwood Park.
The girls’ father stated that they are recovering, but the older child suffered a broken nose and the younger girl required staples for a laceration on her head. A nearby business’s surveillance video showed the sisters holding hands and crossing ahead of their older brother when they were struck by a westbound car.
I felt guilty. “I felt like some of it was my fault,” said Ward 6 councilman Angel Arroyo.
He stated that he began advocating for improved safety measures shortly after a 2015 study revealed decreased traffic, prompting the city to remove traffic lights from the intersection.
“I was completely against that. “I walked the neighborhoods and got petitions signed by residents,” he explained.
Within one day of the collision, the city’s director of public safety and service directed that stop signs be installed on East 31st Street. Stop signs were already installed at the intersection of Clinton Avenue’s north and south streets.
“This is a high-traffic area, with drivers going 40 or more miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. More importantly, this is an area that has been designated as a bike lane, with people riding their bikes up and down the street. And that intersection is near one of the city’s largest parks,” Arroyo explained.
The councilman is now asking the city to consider installing stop signs at other intersections in his ward, such as East 31st Street and Palm Avenue and East 28th Street and Pearl Avenue.
News On Thursday, five cameras were rolling at East 31st Street and Palm Avenue when two cars collided.
“I’m quite used to it. I heard the crash and said, ‘There’s a car accident.’ And there it was,” said Jesse Hernandez, an East 31st Street neighbor who stepped out onto his porch to witness the crash.
Hernandez, who has lived in the house for 50 years, recalls when the city removed traffic lights from the intersection and expressed concern for the children who walk in the neighborhood. He also suggested that the city add stop signs to make it a four-way stop.
“People get too used to driving as if they’re going straight down a highway at a speed they believe they can handle. “They don’t follow the 25-mile-per-hour zone,” he stated.
According to Arroyo, another busy intersection that pedestrians find difficult to cross is East 28th Street and Pearl Avenue.
Neighbors, including Hernandez, said they would welcome any changes to improve safety.
“It’s absolutely terrible. People aren’t watching. I’m on a main street here, so I see it all the time,” he explained.
The Lorain city engineer told News 5 on Thursday that a 2015 traffic study discovered 39 intersections that did not require their current traffic lights. Many were removed based on the study’s recommendations.
The engineer stated that there are currently no plans to restore traffic lights at any intersections, but the city’s director of public safety and service has the authority to make changes.
