By Sarah Hollander
Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
Copyright 2007 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.
Those little blue highway signs I wrote about in last week’s Compass column really shouldn’t be blue. They have way too many friends for that. The Ohio Department of Transportation placed 10,000 of the signs every two-tenths of a mile on highways and highway ramps in urban areas throughout the state in 2003. The signs list highway and mileage numbers on the roads. The ones on ramps list the highways and streets drivers are entering and exiting. A couple of readers thought the $801,000 program was a waste of money and asked me to explain the program’s purpose. ODOT says the Urban Freeway Reference Marker Program, as it’s officially known, helps motorists quickly pinpoint locations when calling 9-1-1. I asked readers who found the signs helpful to let me know and was surprised by the number of fans. Here are some of the responses:
Kevin Bakley, a Strongsville Fire Department captain, said: I was once involved in a search for a motorist experiencing a medical emergency. He adamantly stated he was on Interstate 71, just south of Ohio 82. Two fire rescue vehicles and three police cars searched for over 10 minutes. The motorist became angry with the dispatchers because EMS units were taking so long. He correctly described that he was south of 82; problem was he was on Interstate 77 . . . in Brecksville.
I like the blue markers on the ramps, one reader said. It’s good reinforcement for me to know I’m going in the right direction. The large highway exit markers don’t give you the direction like the blue mark ers do, and that can sometimes be help ful after you’ve done a few loops to get onto a highway.
I’d like to see them on other roads besides the interstates, reader CJ said.
Cleveland police Sgt. Emily Frazier e-mailed: As a safety force worker, I can assure you that many times people don’t know where they are. Or they may know where they are, they just can’t tell you the proper name. I believe that many drivers have only one route in and out of the city and any variation is extremely confusing to them. Also, passers-by or victims of accidents don’t always indicate whether an accident is before or after a ramp. Safety forces often have to go around in circles before getting to the accident.
I have only been in Ohio three years and I find the highway signs very helpful, especially where you have multiple exits going off the freeway, reader Bill Calderwood of Cleveland e-mailed. I can check real quick to make sure I am on the ramp I wanted.
For those of us that travel the entire state, the additional signs have been very helpful. First of all it is a double-check system to make sure I am going the right way without having to wait a mile for a sign, reader Cindy Artino of Hudson e-mailed. And secondly, the additional signs have helped when I have called 9-1-1 about an accident.
Bedford Heights police officer Craig Sirna e-mailed: If you ever sat in the dispatch center on a busy day or during an emergency, you would come to appreciate the signs. In regards to your comment on the ramp signs seeming almost silly, check out the bird’s-eye view of the area of Interstate 271, U.S. 422, Interstate 480, Harvard Avenue, Rockside Road, Miles Avenue, Northfield Road, Richmond Road. These areas include six or seven police departments and with all of the ramps, it can get confusing. The signs can save precious seconds in emergency response time.
For 15 years I was a volunteer fireman and rescue squad member in Richfield, reader Henry Novak e-mailed. I responded many times to accidents where accidents most often happen, exit and entrance ramps. Richfield is a small community (where the Coliseum used to be) but there are 38 ramps to and from freeways there! People were always confused because I-271, which is a north and south freeway, actually runs east and west through Richfield. I think the addition of these signs is well worth the expenditure.