U.S. 6 traffic study underway
By CARRIE WHITAKER
Erie Regional Planning
Due to the development of Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center Complex and the result of added vehicle traffic, changes to the U.S. 6 Corridor in Erie County may be coming in the future. Recognizing the need to explore reducing congestion on the corridor, the Erie Regional Planning Commission Metropolitan Planning Organization received a grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation State Planning and Research Program to conduct a U.S. 6 corridor planning study. The SPR grant award of $200,000, paired with $50,000 in local funding (from the ERPC MPO, City of Sandusky, Perkins Township and the City of Huron) provides the funding for Cleveland based transportation consultants, TranSystems to conduct the multi-modal study.
The regional approach to the project is unique as the portion of the corridor being evaluated is from Sycamore Line (U.S. 250) in Sandusky to Rye Beach Road in Huron. Also, Butler Street in Sandusky from Milan Road (U.S. 250) to Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) is included as part of the study because it serves as one of the main routes to Cedar Point.
The study officially kicked-off in the spring of 2018. Since that time, a stakeholder committee has been developed and met with, analysis of crash data has been performed and the gathering of traffic counts along the corridor has been completed. The consultants are currently in the process of reviewing the collected traffic count information and are completing their analysis of the existing conditions along the corridor. A public meeting will be held in early fall (date to be determined) to share the results of that existing analysis.
After gathering stakeholder and public input on the results of the existing analysis, the consultants will develop a set of recommended improvement alternatives along with an implementation plan. Upon completion of this task, comments from project stakeholders and the public will again be solicited. Once all comments are received and evaluated, finalization of study will begin. ERPC anticipates the study be completed in early 2019; all public notices regarding meetings and plan development will be posted on ERPC’s website at https://www.eriecounty.oh.gov/ErieRegionalPlanningCommission.aspx or the Erie County Department of Regional Planning may be contacted for information at 419-627-7792.
Carrie Whitaker is senior transportation planning engineer for the Erie Regional Planning Commission, 2900 Columbus Ave., Sandusky, 419-627-6671 .
