Politics & Government

Solon City Council To Discuss U.S. 422 Letter Tonight

The city council will talk about the letter to ODOT concering the U.S. 422 guard rails at a special meeting at 6:45 p.m. tonight

The Solon City Council will hold a special meeting tonight to discuss the contents of a letter to state transportation officials concerning the U.S. 422 guard rails.

Some city council members have expressed concern about the new guard rails, installed this year along the highway. They are worried that the rails will cause more safety problems because they were installed so close to the road.

So city council voted to send a letter to the Ohio Department of Transportation asking that the guard rails be removed.

Find out what's happening in Solonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But city council members have been that everyone agrees with. Some, such as Ward 3 Councilwoman Toni Richmond, want to ask to have the guardrails removed. Others, such as Ward 7 Councilman Bill Russo, are concerned about damaging the city's working relationship with ODOT.

A draft of the letter has already been prepared, but Richmond said she wouldn't vote for it. She described its tone as "groveling" to ODOT.

Find out what's happening in Solonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Tonight's meeting will give city council members a chance to iron out their differences.

Some residents had already expressed concern about the guard rails when a fatal crash involving the guardrail has incited more worries. Solon police have said they can't speculate on whether the guardrails actually contributed to the Nov. 19 death Jason Kasmer, a 28-year-old Solon man.


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