Stop blaming ODOT, Mr. Mayor!
John Gall lives at the T-bone intersection of South Taylor Road and Fairmount Boulevard in Cleveland Heights. On several occasions, speeding motor vehicles traveling southbound through that intersection have crashed into his house. One crash resulted from a police chase. There used to be a guardrail facing the intersection on Gall’s tree lawn. The city had it removed. Mr. Gall believes that removal has deprived his house of protection from such collisions.
Mayor Seren insists that removal of the guardrail merely “adhered” to guidelines of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The mayor has offered alternative solutions, such as bollards, wooden posts, field stones, or concrete barriers. He even offered to buy Gall’s house. The city now has placed two large boulders on the tree lawn. But Mr. Gall still wants a guardrail. The city still refuses to allow one.
Mayor Seren blames ODOT. But Fairmount Boulevard is not a state road. ODOT has no jurisdiction over it. Moreover, ODOT merely observes that vehicle speed and roadway curvature should be considered when deciding whether to install a guardrail. It further states that “crash history can be a deciding factor.” So ODOT guidelines do not directly address the Gall situation.
ODOT does not consider guardrails as being specifically designed for head-on impact. It does offer that if an area has repeat safety issues and if a guardrail is not an option, ODOT safety engineers might study alternatives. But I have not learned that either ODOT or any private traffic engineers have been consulted in this case.
Mayor Seren also claims that a guardrail on Gall’s property would pose a hazard to traffic proceeding eastbound on Fairmount Boulevard. But ODOT standards suggest that the proper design of a guardrail would prevent that.
Mayor Seren should stop blaming ODOT. He rejected ODOT guidelines when he recently lowered the speed limit on South Taylor Road from 35 mph to 25 mph. The refusal to install a guardrail for Mr. Gall is not based on any ODOT mandate. It solely is a matter of mayoral discretion.
Personally, I believe Mayor Seren should allow Mr. Gall to have his guardrail if an agreement is signed to hold the city blameless in the event such a guardrail does not solve Gall’s problem. Mr. Gall deserves the freedom to accept any risk to his own property.

Alan Rapoport
Alan Rapoport is a longtime resident of Cleveland Heights and an attorney. He served on CH City Council 1980–1987, and as council president with the title of mayor 1982–1987.