Changes coming to Fraternity Circle

Lauren Mazza

Anchor intro: While the Summit Street improvement project is still in its developmental stage, city engineers are planning to meet mid next week to discuss changing the stretch of road where Summit Street meets with Fraternity Circle. TV2’s Lauren Mazza has all the details on the project.

The seemingly always-congested Summit Street causes headaches for many pedestrians and drivers.

Where Summit Street and Fraternity Circle intersect is no exception.

SOT (Adam Golcowksi, KSU Student) I have to go across Summit Street and it turns out to be more of a game of Frogger trying not to get hit by cars.

But soon, that will all change as a part of the ongoing Summit Street improvement project.

SOT (Lauren Mazza, TV2 news) The city of Kent wants to widen that stretch of road and add a large center median even larger then this one on Main Street.

The median will be about 18 to 20 feet wide and will have grass and trees, and many changes in elevation.

But Kent city engineer Jim Bowling knows that adding a median won’t come without problems.

SOT (Jim Bowling, Kent City Engineer) making the road safe for cars inherently makes it unsafe for people, and making it safe for people inherently makes it unsafe for cars.

Adding the median would be an annoyance to drivers because they won’t be allowed to make left hand turns.

On the other hand, it would benefit walkers because the amount of road they have to cross will be cut in half and it will be safer for them.

It will take seventeen feet to reach the median and then another 17 feet to get to the other side of the road.

Bowling says he is open and willing to listen to input from residents of Fraternity Circle and he realizes it won’t be easy.

So how will the project happen?

SOT (Jim Bowling) with lots of patience, engineering and money…that makes it happen.

For TV2 News, I’m Lauren Mazza .