HAMILTON, Ohio — With the arrival of Spooky Nook Sports complex next year in Hamilton, which will bring thousands into the city, one thing is certain: there will be thousands more cars coming through the city.
Hamilton resident Cassie Kellum already knows that traffic can get backed up during rush hour.
“I want to get from A to B as quick as possible,” she said.
Point A is her home two blocks away from Point B, Ivy salon, the business she owns.
"If you hit one light you hit them all sometimes,” Kellum said. “Again, it doesn’t bother me unless I’m in a hurry.”
Between 25,000 to 30,000 cars drive on High Street through downtown each day, and Kellum said she’s excited for what the Spooky Nook sports complex will soon bring.
“I don’t think you’ve been to a bustling city and not have traffic,” she said. “All of them are like that. I think people should embrace it."
City officials got the green light with a $4.2 million grant for a central-based traffic signal system.
“As traffic grows, that’ll cause headaches as well. But I think it’ll definitely improve our mobility,” said Scott Hoover, the city’s Traffic Operations Manager.
By 2022, he said all 97 intersections in the city will be improved with video detection, controllers and hardware upgrades -- all of which means making the drive around town less a game of sitting at red lights.
“You can dial that in to move traffic the most efficient way based off what you’re seeing with those special events,” he said.
With the new system comes traffic improvements on B Street, where the sports facility will be going in.
“To increase mobility 10 to 15% would be a positive thing,” Hoover said.
Homeowners and business owners like Kellum said they are ready for the added traffic.
“It’ll be good to see new faces,” she said. “To see new people walking around, and things like that, will be fun.”
