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Residents press city for cul-de-sac
(by Sali McSherry - November 18, 2009)
Residents press city for cul-de-sac
By SALI McSHERRY
Residents of Windy Hill Drive want Pepper Pike City Council to move forward with making their street into a cul-de-sac, they said at last week's road and safety meeting.
The approximately $80,000 project has been on the books but was deferred due to budget constraints. Early this year, a majority of residents signed a petition in favor of the cul-de-sac to be built on the north end of the 0.6-mile drive at Cedar Road. Windy Hill Drive is located between Fairmount Boulevard and Cedar Road.
Windy Hill Drive resident Muriel Solovon, who takes daily walks in the neighborhood, said she is concerned there will be an accident, because more young families are on the street, which has no sidewalks. Drivers use the road as a cut-through to Cedar Road, she said.
Another resident, Bryan Pflaum, asked the city to stick to the original plan and fulfill the promise to build the cul-de-sac. It's an investment in safety, he said. The road is being used by commuters and delivery trucks, and it's dangerous with the growing number of small children on the street, he said.
By installing a cul-de-sac, property values would increase, Mr. Pflaum said, which would generate more taxes for the city.
Councilman Allan Krulak, who presided over the meeting, said council would get answers and get back to residents within 10 days.
Mayor Bruce H. Akers was absent from the meeting.
The project plan has been prepared, city Engineer Donald Sheehy said. Typically, the installation of a cul-de-sac is done as part of the city's road program, he said. It's too late in the season to do the project, he said, but if council and the mayor decide to move forward with the installation, the city could advertise for bids in March.
An emergency access drive to Cedar Road only for safety forces' use would be built, according to Fire Chief Thomas Hartman.
Resident Ben Fisco asked if a concrete barrier could be installed as a temporary measure.
The city engineer and fire chief both said it would be unsafe. And school buses and snowplows would need the cul-de-sac to loop around, because it's too difficult to back out of a driveway, they said.
Signage to inform motorists about the dead-end street should be installed once the work is completede, residents said.
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