A city effort to slow traffic down a bit while expanding curbside parking and adding bike lanes will start later this month on stretches of Erie and Michigan streets.
While the two streets will continue to be one-way through Toledo’s central business district, the Toledo Department of Transportation announced last week that blocks with three lanes north of Jefferson Avenue will be reduced to two starting July 19.
The space occupied by the third lane will be converted to on-street parking and a buffered bicycle lane between the left-side parking and the curb. Flexible posts will be used to mark the parking lane’s boundary.
The change is consistent with recommendations in the Downtown Toledo Transportation Plan adopted several years ago, the city said, and the bike lane in particular will “create more connectivity through downtown and to the Jefferson Cycle Track.”
City crews will work block by block to restripe pavement for the new layout, the notice said.
It may be that the bike lane will only be included along Erie. Michigan is slightly narrower and the block between Adams Street and Madison Avenue, in front of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, already has parking on both sides with little surplus room obvious for adding a bike lane.
The main downside I see to these changes is that event-goers leaving the Huntington Center from the Madison side will be squeezed into two lanes instead of three if they turn left onto Michigan.
On the plus side, two of Michigan’s three lanes between Madison and Jefferson are narrower than the third, and tractor-trailers can be scary when using those narrow lanes.
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A sewer repair will cause a major headache this week at a busy West Toledo intersection.
Motorists will do well to avoid Sylvania Avenue and Douglas Road at their intersection, especially if headed north on Douglas or west on Sylvania.
All traffic headed north or west into the intersection will be forced to turn right there. Douglas traffic will be directed east to Jackman Road, then back via westbound Laskey Road. Sylvania traffic will be directed north to Laskey, then west to Secor Road to return south.
Through traffic will remain open on eastbound Sylvania and southbound Douglas, but no left turns will be allowed in any direction.
This work is scheduled to last for three days, starting Monday, but history shows it could take longer than that, especially if it rains. And as of Sunday, rain was in the Toledo forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Also vulnerable to rain is nighttime paving work on I-75 in Perrysburg and Rossford, for which the U.S. 20/23 (Fremont Pike) northbound entrance is scheduled to be closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Use the State Rt. 795 entrance instead on the nights when the ramp is closed.
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• I-75: The northbound entrance from U.S. 20/23 will be closed Wednesday and Thursday nights, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., during ongoing I-75 resurfacing that closes mainline lanes also at night. Lane closings also possible for bridge work at Lime City Road, which is closed.
• I-75: Left lane may be closed near Hancock County Road 99 north of Findlay for a bridge project.
• I-75 (Mich.): Lane closings, Exit 5 (Erie) to north of Exit 9 (LaSalle), for roadway reconstruction. Southbound traffic is crossed over to the northbound side. The southbound exit at Exit 9 is closed.
• Ohio Turnpike: Exit 34 (State Rt. 108/Wauseon) is closed for reconstruction; use Exit 25 or 39 instead.
• I-280: Traffic shifts to the right between State Rts. 2 and 51 for median reconstruction. Two lanes remain open southbound but northbound traffic is reduced to one lane through the zone until mid-August.
• I-475/U.S. 23: No shoulders and traffic is shifted between U.S. 24 (Exit 4) and Angola Road for reconstruction and widening. Both ramps connecting southbound I-475/U.S. 23 with westbound U.S. 24 are closed until mid-August. Detour through other interchange ramps to get from southbound I-475 to westbound U.S. 24. Use Ford Street and Dussel Drive to reach southbound I-475 from westbound U.S. 24. Monclova Road may be closed at I-475 daily between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. for overhead bridge work.
• U.S. 20A/State Rt. 2: Closed at Main Street (westerly junction of State Rt. 64) in Swanton for sewer construction until mid-September. Detour via U.S. 20 between State Rts. 295 and 109. Route 64 detours via Routes 20A/2, 295, and 20.
• U.S. 24 (Fearing): Lanes closed between Airport Highway and Hill for overpass replacement. Consider Byrne Road as an alternative route between Airport and Hill.
• State Rt. 2: Lane closings west of State Rt. 163 in Ottawa County for slope repair.
• State Rt. 25 (Anthony Wayne Trail): Inbound right lane closed between Copland and Glendale for multi-use path construction.
• State Rt. 25/U.S. 24 (Anthony Wayne Trail): Lane closings resume Monday between Monclova Road and Detroit Avenue for finish work related to a recent repair, repaving, bike path, and landscaping project.
• State Rt. 65 (River): Closed southwest of Riverby Hills Golf Course for culvert replacements. Detour via State Rts. 64 and 582.
• State Rt. 120 (Central): Eastbound right lane closed this week, Reynolds to Exmoor, for brush and tree cutting.
• State Rt. 295: Lane restrictions Monday through Wednesday at Archbold-Whitehouse Road for brush removal.
• Broadway Street: All lanes except one inbound lane are closed to through traffic between Newbury Street and Western Avenue for street reconstruction. Western (State Rt. 2) remains closed at Broadway and several other cross streets also are closed nearby.
• Glendale Avenue: Culvert work requires lane closings between Fallbrook Road and Cherrylawn Drive until mid-October.
• U.S. 23/30: Left lane closed in both directions at the State Rts. 53/67 interchange on Upper Sandusky’s north side for pavement replacement.
• U.S. 6: Flag zones near Terra State Community College west of Fremont for microsurfacing.
• State Rt. 795: Lanes closed between I-75 and State Rt. 51 for repaving, which mostly occurs at night (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.). The westbound ramps at East Broadway are closed, and the eastbound ramps there will close early next week after the westbound ramps reopen.
• Hill Avenue/Centennial Road: Intersection closed for roundabout construction until late July. Use Angola as an alternate for Hill and King as an alternate for Centennial.
• Salisbury/Holloway roads: Intersection closed for roundabout construction until late August. Use Maumee-Western (U.S. 20A) as an alternate for Salisbury and either Albon or Manley as alternates for Holloway.
• Summit Street (Mich.): The I-75 Exit 2 Connector, already reduced to one lane each way between I-75 and Suder Avenue, will be further restricted starting Wednesday to a single lane governed by traffic signals for ongoing bridge work.
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