Fairlawn officials will not wait until spring to block off Rothrock Road to restrict access to a proposed Walmart and Sam’s Club in Copley Township.City council will meet Monday to discuss alternative plans other than the original gate system to restrict access to shoppers driving through Fairlawn to get to the site. Another meeting is scheduled for next Friday to address access for emergency vehicles and school buses to neighborhoods. In a letter to Copley Township, Fairlawn says it cannot afford to put its plans on hold because it would give Walmart an opening to go ahead and build a Supercenter store on Rothrock Road based on current traffic studies that do not account for the road closure. If Fairlawn moves ahead with its plans to restrict access to Rothrock Road, it would force planners to consider the traffic impact on other roads in the area. The city has asked the county and the township to refrain from signing off on Walmart’s plans until a new comprehensive traffic study can be done.Walmart wants to relocate from Fairlawn to Copley to build a bigger store on a 40 acre vacant lot at the northern portion of Rothrock Road. The new store would be open 24 hours a day and would include groceries. Sam’s Club would also leave Fairlawn and occupy a new store on the site that would include fuel pumps.The letter was in response to Copley Township asking Fairlawn what it plans to do with Rothrock Road in light of a recent judge’s ruling to deny motions for a preliminary injunction that would have put a halt to construction plans.Fairlawn has announced that it will not invest in the construction of the proposed gate system at a cost of $327,539. Instead the city plans to put up signs and other barricades that would close Rothrock Road to through traffic while preserving access for emergency and official vehicles and allowing limited local access. Fairlawn argues it is its job is to protect the city’s rights and those of its residents who oppose Walmart’s move.The letter refers to Judge Alison McCarty’s Oct. 3 ruling where she states “Fairlawn has a serious and legitimate concern in preventing Rothrock Road from becoming a major thoroughfare, which would destroy the character of the surrounding residential areas.”The judge also encouraged all sides in the matter to talk and find a resolution.The two options that will be on the table at Monday night’s council meeting will authorize the full closure of Rothrock Road with no gate system or key cards. The road would be closed west of the intersection of Sawgrass Drive and Rothrock Road. The other option to be discussed would change the location of emergency access to Rosemont Boulevard instead of Rothrock. The city would still use the same Click2enter technology. The council will still consider whether it wants to eliminate the limited local access exception and to restrict access to police, fire, and EMS vehicles only.The letter also invites representatives of LRC Development, Copley Township and Summit County to provide comments on the proposed legislation or to recommend any other alternative proposals. Copley Township’s legal counsel, Irv Sugerman, said the community has no comment “because trustees just received the letter and have not had time to consider the ramifications.” No trustee was available for comment.Larry Levey, the developer, said he did not want to talk about the specifics of the letter but added that LRC Development is “always, always, willing to talk to people.”In another letter sent out Thursday, Fairlawn Mayor Bill Roth invited representatives from neighboring areas to attend Friday’s informational meeting regarding the upcoming Rothrock Road closure. That letter went out to the Copley Township trustees, Copley police and fire departments, the Copley-Fairlawn Schools superintendent, Bath Township trustees, Bath Township police and fire, Akron police and fire departments, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Summit County Engineer and Summit County Sheriff’s departments.Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.