Traffic pattern changes at Howland plaza aim to improve shopping experience

A long stretch of cars backed up, sometimes a dozen deep, waiting for the traffic light to turn is a common sight at the intersection of Mines Road and State Route 46. 

The intersection is right near the Howland Commons, a shopping plaza just east of the Eastwood Mall. Shops like Bass Pro and the Meijer store and gas station draw people in, in droves causing a traffic buildup. 

“[The] study told us a left turn lane with some new timing at that light would help ease that congestion and improve the egress for safety,” Nicholas Coggins, the Chairperson of the Trumbull County Transportation Improvement District said. 

That study, funded by a grant secured by the Trumbull County Transportation Improvement District, found it’s not just the stores causing the congestion. There's also been a huge influx of cars taking this route to try and avoid the diverging diamond construction just a mile and a half down the road. 

To lighten the traffic, the new pattern will add a left turn lane next to a combined straight and right turn lane.

The goal is to make things easier on shoppers so they can keep coming to their favorite stores. 

“When you go to malls across the country they're dying. Not our mall. We’re doing something right that the rest of the world is doing wrong and we're just proud of that and because of that we want to make sure we capture the sales tax here in Trumbull County,” Denny Malloy, a Trumbull County Commissioner and TCTID member said. “We didn't want an experience coming to Trumbull County to shop be a bad experience. We want it to be a good experience where people shop and they want to come back.”

Coggins said with weather permitting they are hoping to have the project finished by mid-October before the holiday shopping season.

The diverging diamond project is expected to be completed sometime in 2026.