Mayor's Corner: Improving Safety At Problematic Intersections
As many of you have heard, on the morning of Monday, March 24, 2025, a collision occurred at the intersection of Madison and Hilliard when a car struck a bicyclist with two children in an attached trailer. All of us are relieved and thankful that no one involved sustained severe injuries. The operator of the car was cited for Failure to Yield Right of Way and told officers that sunglare caused the driver to not see the cyclist.
This unfortunate incident serves as yet another reminder that drivers must be cautious and pay attention – especially in a dense, walkable city like Lakewood where so many get around on foot and cycle. Late last year, a pedestrian was killed near the same intersection in a felony vehicular homicide case, and many have naturally expressed concern as to how we can enhance safety for walkers and cyclists in the area. The City of Lakewood is focused on this effort and on making streets across our community as safe as possible.
The City of Lakewood consistently reviews data from traffic collisions to investigate any trends and determine if problem areas demand additional enforcement focus or possible infrastructure improvements. While the intersection of Madison and Hilliard does not rise to the top of the list of intersections where traffic collisions occur in Lakewood, the City believes that this area warrants addition focus given the two incidents that have occurred over the past six months.
As an initial measure, the City will be marking the four crosswalks that span Madison and Hilliard with high-visibility striping. Additionally, green paint will be placed in all bike lanes as they approach this intersection. Bollards will also be installed at key sections of bike lanes as they approach the intersection. These measures are designed to draw the attention of motorists to bicycle and pedestrian traffic and cause them to slow down and to more clearly separate modes of travel. The City will implement these measures as soon as weather conditions allow and materials/contractors are available.
The City also is retaining an outside engineering firm to perform further analysis on this intersection and provide any potential recommendations for additional safety measures. This firm will work with the Lakewood City Engineer, our Planning Department, and our safety forces to ensure that proposed measures make this location safer and do not give rise to unanticipated risk. Certain aspects of the intersection design/striping were mandated by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) when Hilliard was recently rebuilt through a County Public Works project. Now that this project is fully completed, the City has purview to update certain aspects of the intersection
Even as the City works to explore policy and infrastructure, I also share the opinion of those city council members who believe that additional public education, awareness, and focus are critical. We need all travelers through Lakewood to avoid distraction and to observe all traffic rules including posted speed limits, lane assignments, proper yielding/recognition of right-of-way, and traffic signals. Above all, we must all work together to share our travel corridors with care so that everyone can arrive at their destination safely.