Solon Council Members At Odds Over U.S. 422 Guardrail Letter

Why has it taken the Solon City Council a month to write a letter asking the state to take down the new guardrails along U.S. 422?

Because council members can't agree on what to put in it.

Since Ward 3 Councilman Toni Richmond said she wanted the guardrails torn down on Nov. 7, council members have gone back and forth on the tone of the letter.

Meanwhile, involving the guardrail has incited more worries that the guardrails are dangerous, although Solon police have said on whether the guardrails actually contributed to the Nov. 19 death Jason Kasmer, a 28-year-old Solon man.

On Monday, Richmond said she disagrees with the "groveling" tone of the latest draft of the letter, dated Dec. 5. The draft thanks ODOT for installing the rails but doesn't ask the department to remove them, which was the point of Richmond's request. (Read the letter yourself by clicking the PDF attached to this article.)

"I’m not in agreement with it and I do not intend to sign it," Richmond said at Monday's council meeting.

Some residents are also frustrated with council. Solon resident Jim Vanderwist said he doesn't understand why it's taken so long to get a letter out. He said the guardrails are making the road more dangerous and must be removed, even if it's on the city's dime.

"We stand here now a month later and no letter was sent," he said. "It's not that difficult of a process."

"The residents of Solon are going to respect all of you much more if you say 'There’s a mistake out there and we’re going to correct it' rather than to propigate that mistake," Vanderwist added. "Some things are more valuable than the cost of future road project funds. And if you don’t believe me, I’d ask the Kasmer family."

The History

The Ohio Department of Transportation recently installed a new system of guardrails along U.S. 422 to prevent cars from crossing the grassy median and causing head-on collisions. A median barrier was requested by the city because they were concerned about safety, and cost nearly $1 million.

But the finished rails weren't exactly what city officials had in mind. Richmond said the city wanted a cable rail along the center of the median. Instead, the city got solid rails built only feet away from the edge of the left lane on both sides.

The concern is that the guardrails leave no room for cars to pull off and could cause more accidents, making the road more dangerous.

Council decides to send a letter

On Nov. 7, city council to send a letter to the Ohio Department of Transportation and the governor's office asking to have the new guardrails installed on U.S. 422 modified or removed. The letter was the brainchild of Ward 3 Councilwoman Toni Richmond, who wants the guardrails removed.

But city council members have disagreed on the tone of the letter. After the writing of the letter was approved on Nov. 7, the on Nov. 17, with Ward 7 Councilman Bill Russo expressing concern with the tone of the letter.

Russo, who was out of town when city council voted on Nov. 7, said he's worried it will damage Solon's relationship with ODOT, which hands out millions of dollars for construction projects. He said he wanted traffic engineer Kevin Westbrooks to write the letter instead of the clerk's office, since he was well-versed with ODOT and was used to working with them.

"If we are going to object, we should have objected well in advance of them completing the project," Russo said about the guard rails. "At this point, I think it will create more negative issues down the road."

A Fatal Crash

On Nov. 19, 28-year-old Solon resident was killed when the jeep he was driving struck the guardrail and flipped over, throwing Kasmer from the jeep.

Solon city council members and safety officials have declined to speculate on whether the guardrails contributed to the crash, saying it's impossible to know whether Kasmer would still be alive if the guardrails weren't installed.

Lt. Bruce Felton of the Solon Police Department said the investigation into the crash is ongoing, including toxicology tests being conducted by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner.

Next Steps

Council was largely silent on Richmond's comments. But Ward 2 Councilman Bob Pelunis said he thought the draft letter seemed geared towards appeasing ODOT.

Pelunis suggested that council discuss the wording of the letter during caucus before the Dec. 19 meeting and finalize the wording.

"I think we can work this out and come to an amicable solution and have a letter everyone can be happy with and that will protect the residents and motoring public in Solon," Pelunis said.