VIDEO: Oakwood Ohio 48 roundabout proposal ‘interesting concept’ as safety upgrade

Longtime Kettering residents Mike and Pat Higgins said they use the intersection — known as Five Points — just south of Dayton on a daily basis.

She called the oblong design proposal (shaped somewhat like an hourglass) “a really interesting concept.”

But “I’m more concerned about how we’re going to work and how the cars are going to be moving through the intersection,” Pat Higgins said. “When you think of a roundabout, you think generally of a circle.”

The crossroads on Far Hills involves Oakwood Avenue and Thruston Boulevard, giving it six “spokes” coming out from what Mike Higgins referred to as “a goofy” intersection.

“Overall, I’m kind of positive about” the plan, he said. “It could be good for traffic flow. I think worrying about pedestrians is probably the biggest concern.”

Oakwood City Manager Norbert Klopsch called it “the most complex traffic intersection” in the city, with a roundabout being considered “to improve efficiency and safety.”

Between 2018 and 2021, 21 crashes were reported at the intersection, 29% of which resulted in injuries, according to the city.

Oakwood resident Linda Grandfield, a city resident for more than 50 years who lives near the intersection, said she has a variety of concerns with the proposal.

“My concerns are my property value … and that I’ll never get out of my driveway” due to traffic flow, Grandfield said. “I’m worried about the accidents that are going to happen … I have a lot of worries.”

Regardless of whether the roundabout is ultimately adopted — an issue that may be decided this fall — changes at that intersection are necessary because the traffic signals are outdated, Klopsch said.

Wednesday’s forum was the first of three planned by the city about the proposal. Klopsch said officials would like to see 100 to 200 people at future sessions as Oakwood is seeking input from anyone who uses the intersection, regardless of where they live.

“We do have a lot of folks who come through northbound and southbound and we want everybody’s opinions,” he said.

Ohio 48 is one of the most traveled roads in the Montgomery County suburbs south of Dayton. The average number of vehicles using it daily ranges from about 14,700 at Stewart Street in Dayton to more than 41,500 at Interstate 675 in Centerville, records from the Ohio Department of Transportation show.

Wednesday night’s session included a conceptual roundabout design, plus a detailed 10-minute video showing from multiple perspectives how it would function.

It also featured 12 different display boards with information on roundabouts “and how pedestrian traffic could be very well protected using a roundabout configuration,” Klopsch said.

Other forums are set for June 29 and July 11 at the Oakwood Community Center, 105 Patterson Road.