Traffic Changes In Marietta

MARIETTA, OH — There are going to be some major traffic changes coming to Marietta. City officials are trying to get the word out to local drivers who may be accustomed to old traffic patterns and not notice the new changes. Some changes have already been made.

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There are three intersections in Marietta that federal and state guidelines have decided do not warrant traffic signals. This includes the traffic light at Second Street and Scammel Street, the light at Franklin Street and Market Street, and the light at Phillips Street and Acme Street. They do not warrant traffic signals based on data collected through a traffic study.

Marietta City Engineer Joe Tucker explained that the signal at the intersection of Second and Scammel Streets was removed yesterday. "It's just going to be a two-way stop now."

He says the city isn't going to remove the signal at Franklin and Market Streets. "They're going to convert it to a four-way stop with red flashers in all four directions." He says this is going to be permanent.

Tucker says they're going to leave the intersection of Phillips and Acme Streets alone. "The reason why is although it doesn't meet warrants, it's a very unique intersection." He explained that their consultant reviewed the intersection and recommended that they not remove it at this time. A study may be commissioned in the future to better understand how they can improve that intersection. "In other words, if you just remove the signal and don't change anything else there we think it'd be dangerous."

He wants the public to know they're not removing traffic signals willy nilly here, there's good evidence to support that this will be safer for everyone. "The federal highways has statistics that when you remove a traffic signal that isn't warranted, you actually reduce accidents." While most people might find this curious, Tucker says this makes complete sense if you look at this from all angles. "When a signal is not warranted to be there, people get impatient. They might run a red light." He says studies show this kind of move drops crashes by 24%, and even reduces the severity of the remaining crashes.

These moves are expected to improve safety in the city, and actually save the city a little bit of money too.

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