County staff say they’ve long asked property owners to conduct traffic studies when they propose a project that would put at least 25 extra cars on the road during rush hour.
But developers would push back because Summit County had no formal rule requiring them. Now that’s changed.
New ordinances approved by the county council Nov. 4 will require traffic studies when developments meet that 25-car threshold.
County transportation planner Eva De Laurentiis said the assessments are more formally known as transportation impact studies. That’s because they look at a wide range of roadway conditions.
“We use this as a tool to make recommendations and require modifications as a part of their development proposals,” she told councilmembers.
The studies will consider the effects of new driveways, potential intersection congestion, the sheer volume of cars on the road and more.
For years, Summit County has charged developers a fee for transportation improvements if they generate a certain amount of traffic.
For example, a single-family home might pay $3,400 when it gets built to offset the occupant’s commute. But a daycare pays more than $38,000 since it attracts many more cars daily.
That’s according to an analysis Summit County commissioned when it expanded those fees countywide in 2023.
De Laurentiis said a lot of math goes into projecting how much traffic a development creates, especially if it’s adjacent to existing homes or businesses. Most often, she said, only the largest new developments will meet the threshold for a traffic study.
The developer fees are intended to cover the cost of the study.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
