Plans for Historic District intersection are unveiled and challenged

Walkers should find it easier to navigate

by Sue Serdinak

Sept. 15 village council work session

Village officials describe details of planned improvements to the intersection of Routes 303 and 176 that include road widening and improved sidewalks.

Village engineer David Neumeyer of GPD Group explained the project at a village council meeting that property owners were invited to attend.

Two lanes will be created in all four directions at the intersection. A right-turn lane will be included in three of the four directions, excluding a right-turn lane for eastbound Route 303 turning south onto Route 176.

The village owns the properties on the northwest and southeast corners, and the project is planned to make use of as much of those two corners as possible. Olesia’s Taverne of Richfield will be impacted only by a sidewalk constructed near Route 303. The village owns the triangle of land in front of the Taverne, where the flag and memorials are displayed.

5-foot sidewalks with 2-foot tree lawns will be built in all directions. The sidewalk on the west side of Route 176 will go only as far as the Richfield Chiropractic Center and will not be continued to Richfield Woods until a future time.

New traffic signals will be installed with left-turn detection, and sidewalks will be handicap accessible.

15 property owners and 20 properties are included in the plan. Neumeyer said about 2 feet will be taken from most of the properties. He said the DougOut property will be impacted the most, but no buildings will be removed.

The village hired Betty Dukes of KMJ Land Services to meet with the property owners and negotiate reimbursements for land taken.

Neumeyer said the road design was developed to minimize the impact on buildings. The northeast corner, where the DougOut sits, and the southwest corner, the location of the red brick building owned by Michael Gerbasi, will be the most impacted. The planned sidewalk will be moved 2 feet closer to Gerbasi’s building.

Gerbasi said he owns the nicest building at the intersection, and he told Dukes that he objects to the plan. He said his building is at a blind corner and the lane expansion will make it unsafe. He later added that snowplows will push snow onto his building.

“I think the offer [by Dukes] was a joke. I have a $2,300 tree there. I’m not in favor of the project,” he said.

Neumeyer responded that curbs will make the intersection safer.

Steve Gerbasi, Michael’s brother and owner of the lot where the antique store was razed and the Welcome to Richfield storage building, said he doesn’t see the need for the improvements, as there is little traffic congestion at the intersection.

DougOut

Currently, most of the parking spaces for the DougOut are in the road right-of-way along both Route 303 and Route 176 and should be eliminated, Neumeyer said. A regulation-size right-turn lane from Route 303 to Route 176 is part of the new plan.

Richfield Inn Properties owns the building and a strip of land immediately east of it. Neumeyer said that land could be used to create new, legal parking spaces.

Lee Edmison, owner of the DougOut business, didn’t voice any objections to the plan. He had earlier agreed to remove the large sign pole and planter box in front of the building.

Two-year plan

Neumeyer said the project would start with infrastructure work in 2027. He explained that currently there is no dedicated drainage at the intersection. Instead, there are enclosed ditches. Drainage will be installed, and all of the roadways will be repaved.

In 2028, the lane expansions and new sidewalk construction will be completed. The roadway will be lowered 6 inches.

He said the intent of the design was to make the best use of village-owned land on the northwest and southeast corners. He said the village studied the possibility of constructing a roundabout, but there wasn’t adequate space.

Long-term plan

In his last term on village council, former Mayor Ralph Waszak encouraged the village to proceed with the $2.5 million project, which had been discussed since 1998. “This will dramatically improve the appearance of that corner,” he said.

Photo caption: Sidewalks on the east side of Broadview Road will be moved closer to the buildings. Photo by S. Serdinak.