After conducting a speed zone study of SR 51 in Lake Township, the Ohio Department of Transportation is recommending a no-passing zone in the stretch of Route 51 between Cason Street and Millbury Road.

The recommendation is included with several proposed safety upgrades for intersections along Route 51 in the township but ODOT isn’t considering lowering the speed limit to 35 miles per hour as the township trustees had requested.

However, ODOT is proposing a reduction from 55 MPH to 50 from Pemberville Road east to the township limits at Fostoria Road.

“It should be noted there exists a Journal of Entry of 45 MPH on SR-51 between Pemberville Road and the east corporation limit of the City of Northwood that was established in 1972,” a letter from Michael A. Stormer, ODOT District Planning Engineer, to the trustees says. “The results of our study conclude that the existing Journal Entry of 45 MPH…should remain in place and the speed limit from Fostoria Road to Pemberville Road may be lowered to 50 MPH."

In addition to the speed study, ODOT reviewed crash patterns at 19 intersections along Route 51and is proposing what is calls “safety enhancements.”

At the Fostoria Road/Route 51 intersection:

• Install new “Intersection Ahead” signs for eastbound and westbound Route 51 with a “Fostoria Road “ name plate mounted below.

• Use pavement markings to “square up” the intersection – as was done at Millbury Road – to address the skew issue and angle crashes.

• Add “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop” signs to below the existing right stop signs.

At the Route 51 intersections with Bradner, Walbridge and Pemberville roads, ODOT is proposing to install new “Intersection Ahead” signs for eastbound/westbound Route 51 with the Bradner, Walbridge, and Pemberville name plates below. The Pemberville plate will include “Eastpointe Blvd.”

Once ODOT and the trustees agree on the proposals, a timeline for their implementation can be set, Stormer’s letter says.

In July, the trustees approved a resolution asking for the study and for ODOT to lower the Route 51 speed limit from 55 MPH to 35 between Fostoria Road and State Route 579 - the route’s entire length in the township.

The section of Route 51 in the township has experienced “an increase in traffic use, accidents, and developmental pressures,” the resolution says.

At the trustee’s June 2 meeting, representatives of ODOT said the number of accidents at the Millbury Road/Route 51 intersection doesn’t meet criteria set in the Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for installing a traffic light, which is what the trustees have for years been requesting.

Dave Dysard, ODOT District Director, said a traffic signal at the intersection could even make it less safe.

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