MILLBURY – If at first you can’t succeed with a traffic light, try a speed limit reduction.
Frustrated by the Ohio Department of Transportation’s repeated denials for a signal on Woodville and
Millbury roads, the Lake Township Trustees are trying another tactic.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the board adopted a resolution asking for the speed limit to be reduced from 55 mph
to 35 mph from Ohio 579 to Fostoria Road.
The trustees also requested a speed study of the area.
The study was actually suggested by ODOT officials who attended the last trustees’ meeting which was
packed with residents demanding a light at the intersection. Ohio 51 at Millbury Road has been the site
of one serious and one fatal accident in the last few months.
Trustee Richard Welling said the only section of Woodville Road that is 55 mph in Wood County lies in the
township. He said the average speed limit through Northwood and into Toledo is 35 mph.
“I’d like to reiterate that we are not going to give up on a traffic light, but we have got to do
something to get these accidents down,” Welling said.
Resident Rick Bischoff asked why the trustees couldn’t take action on their own to lower the speed limit
in the township.
Bowen said the speed limits are regulated by the state and county.
At the June 2 meeting, ODOT officials said a traffic light at Woodville and Millbury roads could make the
intersection worse, disrupting the flow of traffic and causing rear-end crashes.
The intersection met zero of the eight warrants in the Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
They include traffic counts, if the area is near a school and accidents at the site.