DELAWARE, OH (WCMH) — As the community in and around the City of Delaware continues to grow, the traffic problems grow with it.
The city has several major highways cutting through it, meaning not only more traffic but frustrated drivers. Local law enforcement officials said they are joining forces to combat the rising number of crashes.
Delaware police, county deputies and the Ohio State Highway Patrol fanned out across the city Monday morning, cracking down on drivers breaking the law.
“There is a lot of traffic and we can’t change the volume, but what we can do is change people’s behaviors and that is what we are trying to do,” said Delaware police Chief Bruce Pijanowski.
Even as the area grows in leaps and bounds, authorities said bottlenecks like highways US 36, SR 37, SR 42 and US 23 merging makes matters worst. A map provided by Delaware police shows most of the crashes happen on those highways, mainly within city limits.
“You are going to see these partnerships that blossom up. Trying to enforce and address the problem as a group. They are going to have to keep doing it because you are going to have to change behavior and it is not going to happen just once,” said Lt. Marcus Pirrone, OSHP Delaware Post Commander.
Commercial vehicles also got as much scrutiny as passenger vehicles as the OSHP Weight Scale Unit checked trucks stopped by law enforcement.
One driver NBC4 spoke with said congestion and frustration leads to some of the problems.
“I think the traffic has gotten heavier recently. Especially coming up from the south, from Lewis Center to get home to Delaware can take an hour and it should take 20 minutes,” said Peg Watkins who has lived in Delaware 19 years. She said we are not going to be able to spend our way out of the traffic problems.
“I think the only thing that will really improve matters is if we can get public transportation,” she said.
But the chief said other factors also contribute to the higher number of crashes.
“We want people to slow down, refrain from aggressive driving, following too closely, running red lights and driving on the shoulders,” Pijanowski said.
Delaware citizens voted down a road levy last November that promised to spent money on road improvements, one of those areas involved was the intersection called the Point, where 36 and 37 merge, a major contributor to the number of Delaware vehicle crashes.
Regardless, Chief Pijanowski said his main focus is on stepping up traffic enforcement that will continue throughout the year.