WESTLAKE, Ohio — In a Westlake neighborhood, a street closed due to construction is causing issues and more traffic in a local neighborhood.
Brennon Rowe has lived on the corner of Clark Parkway in Westlake just about his whole life, but since construction started near his home and closed a section of nearby Center Ridge Road, there have been problems with cut-through traffic.
“They are running though my yard, taking out my mailbox, taking out my cable line," Rowe said. "What am I supposed to think? I’m kind of upset about it. It's frustrating."
While News 5 was in the neighborhood, multiple cars came through, with a mix of those that lived there and those just cutting through — which is what resident Dorthey Babson is getting tired of.
“One car after the other, big trucks, speeding because they are probably mad,” said Babson.
She said RTA buses and even an 18-wheeler have come through.
“They are going to ruin our road, and I don’t have little children, but I would be afraid if I did because they are speeding,” said Babson.
Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough told News 5 this construction is being done by the state to put in a new culvert. They've known about it for a while and posted fliers to notify residents the project would take 75 days.
“I apologize for traffic going through their neighborhood, but anytime you have construction, people will find their own route,” Clough said.
Clough added they have posted large signage at both entrances to try and stop the through traffic, but that doesn’t always work.
“It's a public road; people can be on it. We put the signs up mainly, of course, because of the traffic problem with respect to the construction,” he said.
While some residents are frustrated about the traffic, others, like Joe Warner, say they’ll just deal with it.
“I think they have done enough; besides, it’s going to go away in a month,” said Warner.
Clough adds that a 24/7 police presence in the neighborhood isn’t feasible, but he does ask neighbors to take photos of the license plate for any bus or trucks that pass through.
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