Oakwood ‘road diet’ makes stretch of street safer, data shows

A lane reduction for a one-mile stretch of Shroyer Road in Oakwood has reduced the number accidents on the busy roadway, city officials said.

MORE: Oakwood approves $18.6 million 2020 budget

Oakwood completed a roadway improvement project on the 1.1 mile section of Shroyer Road in 2017. The project converted Shroyer Road from two lanes in each direction (4-lane section) to a single through lane in each direction and a left turn lane (3-lane section). The reduction of the number of through lanes is called a “road diet.”

The project, at a cost of $22,000, was commissioned to address safety concerns identified in a 2016 Shroyer Road safety study.

The study recommended a countermeasure referred to as a “road diet” that consists of reducing the number of lanes from two in each direction to one, with left turn lanes at intersections. It also called for a bike lane on each side of the street between the road and the curb, as well as raised center medians with grass.

The “road diet” concept was selected to improve the safety performance of Shroyer Road for all transportation modes by reducing all crash types.

“Understandably, there was quite a bit of concern expressed around the community when we first proposed this project in 2016. It represented a significant change to one of our thoroughfares, a roadway that carries about 15,000 vehicles per day,” City Manager Norbert Klopsch told the Dayton Daily News. “As the statistics show, the project has been very successful. From comments that we have received over the past couple of years, the change is well received by our citizens.”

MORE: Oakwood mayor delivers State of the City address: ‘Washington, D.C., should follow our example’

There were 21 crashes between 2017-19 on that stretch of roadway, a 66 percent decrease from 2014-16, according to Oakwood research.

The research also suggested that higher risk drivers benefited from the “road diet.” The Oakwood data shows crashes in these age groups reduced from 40 to 10 crashes in the two time periods.

“In addition to the safety metrics that make the Road Diet a success for Oakwood residents and for motorists using Shroyer Road, the quality of life has also been enhanced by increasing the offset of the travel lane to the sidewalk by 5 feet and aesthetic enhancements attributed to the landscaped medians,” Klopsch said.

MORE: Oakwood State of the Schools address touts progress

About the Author