Several residents who could be affected by the possible re-opening of Avon Road at the Westlake border during part of the Nagel Road interchange project came to Monday's City Council meeting at City Hall to let their concerns be known.

Council approved an ordinance authorizing the city to enter into an agreement with Westlake to re-open Avon Road, but mayor Jim Smith and several council members stressed that it wasn't a done deal.

"We'll get the costs and the particulars," Smith said. "If it doesn't work, we won't do it."

Smith, along with council members, assured residents that, if the deal went through, Avon Road would never be a through road.

If the road is opened at the Westlake border, Smith said, it would only be if the Avon/Nagel road intersection was closed for construction.

The ordinance states clearly that Avon Road would only be opened at the border for that stage of the project, said councilman Kevin Ward. Once the Avon/Nagel intersection is reopened, the road would close at the Westlake border.

"Westlake does not want it open permanently," Smith said.

Neil Perrine, a resident who lives off Avon Road, said one of his concerns was traffic on Avon Road from the commuters coming out of the subdivisions onto Bradley Road.

Residents also expressed worries over access for emergency vehicles, which Smith said would be done not only by a service road from Good Samaritan, but via Nagel Road as would be stipulated in an agreement with Mosser, the construction company doing the interchange.

Other issues brought up included the possibility of disrupting school bus routes, postal deliveries and having to add five miles to any errand or taking children to school or activities.

"It's going to be harder to get my kids in carpools (for activities)," said Mary Broadbent, a Willow Creek resident.

Don Damyanic, project manager for the city on the Nagel Road interchange, was at the meeting to hear issues and answer questions. He said that allowing Mosser, who proposed the idea, to close Avon at Nagel Road, would shorten construction at the Avon/Nagel intersection by several months.

"I understand (the concerns)," Damyanic said. "But I think having the project done in a much shorter time would cause a lot less inconvenience."

Damyanic added that safety is his top concern.

"Having worked on projects in the private sector, worker safety is paramount," he said. "And it's not just the safety of the workers, but the safety of the residents who would have to drive through a work zone."