Pedestrian expresses concern over construction in Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio —

The construction at Cherry Street and Summit Street is nothing new, but with the start of the second phase, there are new concerns about pedestrian safety and the lack of crosswalks available.

As of Wednesday, no crosswalks are open on either side of Cherry and Summit. City officials say the sidewalks on the south side of Cherry, the side closer to downtown, should be open within a few days.

There is no way to cross at the intersection. If someone is coming from east Toledo to downtown, a flashing beacon was added on Wednesday to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge.

On the other side, pedestrians will have to go down at least two blocks to Huron Street to cross with a light.

Getting to work has been a whole new challenge for lifetime Toledoan Kranda May. She said she became concerned when she saw the lights were off or covered for pedestrians at the intersection of Cherry and Superior.

“The pedestrian crossing here is the most convenient path, but since they are covered, we don’t know where we’re supposed to go, when, or anything like that,” May said. “We’re kind of just playing Frogger in traffic.”

May said she tried to cross at Cherry and Superior once.

“That was maybe my first and last attempt,” May said. “Other than that, I’ll just go walk around and just go to my parking spot from there.”

May parks for work at a lot on the north side of Cherry Street and walks to work at the Fifth Third building. Her commute normally takes five minutes, but now it’s been at least fifteen minutes.

May isn’t just worried about herself having to navigate it.

“We’re right by the bus stop, so that’s a lot of people, children, elderly members of the community that has to deal with the construction,” May said. “Just more safety precautions is really my main concern.”

The crosswalk will have to stay that way because of zoning, according to city officials.

“Because of the way the zone is extended to allow for the traffic pattern shift, it is going to need to stay in flash, and we can’t allow pedestrians to cross there at Superior,” Toledo’s commissioner of traffic management, Stephanie Bartlett, said.

Bartlett said she knows these detours can be inconvenient, but they’re the safest option. 

May said she just wants an easy, safe route to work and for others to be safe as well.

The construction at the intersection is set to be finished in July.