Speed Tables Installed At Lakewood Intersection

LAKEWOOD, OH — Construction crews installed temporary speed tables on Marlowe Avenue on Friday. Officials hope the devices will reduce traffic accidents and reckless driving as cars enter onto Franklin and Madison Avenue.

Lakewood Councilman John Litten played a significant role in getting the traffic calming test project into the city. He said the Marlowe-Franklin intersection has been particularly dangerous, with a number of accident and even a fatality in June 2018. Trying possible solutions to prevent future accidents at the intersection was a priority for Litten.

At first, officials thought drivers were speeding on Franklin Avenue. After setting up cameras to study traffic, it became clear motorists were actually driving safely on Franklin. Litten and others now believe drivers are speeding on feeder streets that lead to Franklin.

"People were speeding on side streets. Marlowe and Franklin had a particularly high accident rate," Litten said. After analysis, the decision was made to try a speed reduction and traffic calming project.

With financial assistance from NOACA, the city decided to try a pair of speed tables on Marlowe Avenue. Speed tables are platforms, about 10 feet long, placed on streets to get drivers to slow down. They're less damaging to vehicles than speed bumps, but still effective in calming traffic, Litten said.

The tables will be in place for a few months while crews study their effectiveness. Officials have also installed speed monitoring cameras on Marlowe Avenue to analyze if the tables are working.

"Ultimately we just want attentive driving. Another facet [of reducing traffic accidents] is the distracted driving legislation we passed that makes using a cell phone while driving a primary offense," Litten said.

Lakewood City Council passed a law in September making punishable the acts of texting, reading, scrolling, dialing, or answering the phone while driving if the driver has to take even one hand off of the car's steering wheel. Police will be able to pull drivers over if they're seen committing one of these offenses.

"Speed tables aren’t a panacea. It’s a comprehensive approach that’s important," Litten told Patch. "It’s having distracted driving laws. We now have a camera watching that intersection, so we can understand what drivers are doing when they enter. We’ve also made it a priority to get solar-powered speedometer signs that tell you how fast you’re going."