VIDEO: If your commuting takes you through the busy intersection of Route 224 and South Avenue in Boardman, be sure to watch for oncoming emergency vehicles.
A recent paving project along 224 added new yellow safety barriers to divide east and westbound traffic. They’re meant to keep people from trying to turn across four lanes of traffic. Fire Chief Mark Pitzer says his firefighters travel through this intersection carefully, but the new barriers may force emergency vehicles to approach the area using the lanes for oncoming traffic.
“A lot of times, people that are turning, heading northbound on South Avenue, turning west onto 224, we’re faced head-to-head, so that forces us to stop and then push them over to the right,” Chief Pitzer said.
He says the new barriers can be run over if need be, but he’s not sure how that will affect his trucks.