The results from TEC’s analysis showed there was a crash issue on South Washington and a delay issue, and Scott Hoover, Hamilton’s Traffic Operations manager, said “a lot of that was due to a sight-distance issue along New London at South Washington.”
New London Road is a heavily traveled road, which is also the way toward Hamilton Badin High School. It’s also a route to get to western Butler County communities. South Washington Boulevard and Elmwood Road ― which are on opposing sides of New London Road ― are neighborhood streets.
A survey among residents in and around the New London Road area commented on the safety of the intersection, as well as comments in the North Hamilton Crossing survey and concerns by the Hamilton Police Department and Hamilton City Schools.
In the past 19 months, there had been eight crashes, and Hoover added that six were injury-related crashes.
“We do have a problem and we have to do something to address that problem,” he said.
The permanent solution to the problem is a roundabout, which by design eliminates the potential for angled crashes. The city is seeking an Ohio Department of Transportation grant estimated for about $3 million. The application is due in March and construction wouldn’t start until 2027. If they are awarded a grant, they’ll be notified in September.
A temporary solution is needed in the meantime, and Hoover said there are three options.
“We don’t want to do any of these solutions, but we have to do something,” he said.
The preferred option by the Engineering Department is a right-turn-only for both South Washington Boulevard and Elmwood Drive, and can be implemented “fairly quickly” with a delineator system. He said the sight distance is poor coming off South Washington and Elmwood.
“We can put this in play, and we don’t like how it’s working, it’s something we can remove and adjust to at that point,” he said of delineators, which are reflective plastic posts, usually orange, designed to direct traffic. “It’s an easy system to install. It’s signage, pavement markings, and a delineator system.”
Hoover said there is a potential issue with people avoiding the intersection by going through the neighborhood, but feels that would be temporary as motorists will feel “it’s not a great option to go through the neighborhoods.”
“People will adjust their routes, but this is what we’re recommending as option No. 1,” he said.
Option two is a temporary traffic signal, and option three is a four-way stop.
“The crash frequency is too high and we have to do something about it,” he said.
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