Toledo transportation officials have dropped plans to include a roundabout at Kenwood Boulevard as part of Secor Road’s upcoming reconstruction south of Central Avenue.
Project plans still include a median divider that will block left turns to and from side streets between Central and Kenwood as well as lefts for traffic leaving the Westgate Village shopping complex.
But after meeting with neighborhood residents in July, the city first “paused” its plans for a roundabout at the Kenwood intersection, then sent notice to residents early this month that the circle there had been scrapped.
Instead, the city told residents, the intersection will be rebuilt with traffic signals, as it is now, but with a U-turn lane to facilitate turnarounds for southbound drivers seeking access to side streets north of Kenwood.
The Secor-Kenwood roundabout plan was one of three the Toledo Department of Transportation designated in September as “paused for further review and community engagement.” Officials said they were also reconsidering roundabouts proposed for Central and Detroit avenues in central Toledo and Main Street and Starr Avenue in East Toledo.
Since then, the city said it would also rebuild Main and Starr as a conventional intersection, while the Central/Detroit project has been canceled.
The city said in September it was “fiercely committed to improving transportation safety for all residents,” while noting that roundabouts are proven “highly effective in improving traffic safety for drivers and pedestrians alike” along with reducing pollution, improving traffic flow, and being cheaper to maintain than stoplights.
But especially in some of its older neighborhoods, Toledo has met roundabout resistance from residents who call such intersections “confusing,” particularly regarding which drivers have right-of-way, and difficult for pedestrians to negotiate.
City officials previously dropped a planned roundabout at Bancroft Street and Parkside Boulevard, and a mid-2010s proposal to rebuild Secor through its five-way intersection with Bancroft and Indian Road included options with a roundabout there that were unpopular.
“Over the past six months, we’ve been working on outreach and education on roundabouts and are hosting ongoing roundabout trainings to influence community perception on what the data show are an incredibly safe and efficient traffic pattern,” Amy Voigt, a city spokesman, said last week. “We anticipate more roundabouts to be included in future projects and will continue to engage with the community on the topic.”
The city project on Secor between Central and Kenwood is scheduled for construction next year. Its design is driven by a history of crashes involving left-turning vehicles, particularly at the Westgate Village driveways, and exceptionally narrow lanes between the shopping center and Bancroft.
Secor’s right-of-way north of Kenwood is wide enough to accommodate four full-width lanes and a decorative median.
Widening south of Kenwood, however, was thwarted in 2017 by Ottawa Hills’ resistance to such a project because of a dozen property condemnations that would have been required. Secor runs along the Toledo-Ottawa Hills border south of Kenwood and houses on the Ottawa Hills side are close to the street.
First Published March 27, 2025, 4:41 p.m.
