The signal on West 117th Street at Interstate 90 turns red, and roadway movement stops. Curb-lane drivers turning right onto the westbound highway look ahead and see a clear path. It looks safe to go.

Too bad it's illegal.

"No Turn on Red" signage stymies I-90-bound motorists at the always busy spot just south of shopping plazas on Cleveland's West Side. The don't-do-it notice "seemingly functions only to bottle up traffic," according to Road Rant lookout Jim Spilsbury of Lakewood, one of several readers to complain about the order.

The curb lane functions only to pour southbound West 117th vehicles onto I-90. No other traffic rolls into the entry path. There is a crosswalk to consider, but there's also a clear line of sight -- better than most traditional intersections -- to spot pedestrians.

Simply put, no reason stands out to force a no-right-on-red rule.

So why have it?

Heads up: Signage informs motorists that they can't drive down Landon Road in Shaker Heights during certain hours. Unfortunately, the nitty-gritty details arrive a tad late for those turning off Shaker Boulevard.

Westbound traffic on Shaker learns the specifics of the restriction after committing toward Landon and Green Road, reports Road Rant scout Sheldon Gisser. The posted notices on Landon stand roughly 200 feet from where boulevard drivers start veering right. "I doubt I am the only one who is unable to read the small print," the Pepper Pike man e-mailed.

That forces a last-second decision for drivers aimed at Landon between the prohibited hours of 7 and 9:30 a.m. and 3 and 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday: Either go rogue and disobey or turn right onto Green Road and map a new route.

It's an annoying setup, Gisser said. It's also fixable with the installation of a sign along Shaker Boulevard before the intersection at Landon.

So how about it, Shaker Heights?

Night frights: Joe Harmon knows people can vanish in the dark.

Two streetlights fronting his round-the-clock storage facility in North Royalton stopped glowing a few years back. The outage turned the cul-de-sac on York Theta Drive into a gloomy location . . . and that's not exactly good for business. Harmon e-mailed that he's "tired of losing potential customers and the peace of mind of my existing customers" to the inky conditions.

So Road Rant put the spot in the spotlight.

A call to FirstEnergy brought a review of the situation. (Crews responded previously but never managed to resolve the problem.) The illumination gang determined that an underground circuit needs to be replaced, making the job a bit more complex. Design work is under way and officials expect a fix within a week or two.

In other words, the future looks bright.

Scaling back: Macedonia decluttered.

Workers removed three of the 11 street-name signs identifying Aurora Road (Ohio 82), North Bedford Road and Valley View Road where they intersect just east of Interstate 271 in northern Summit County. It's an improvement . . . though fewer nameplates would be even better. Road Rant noted a complaint about the excess signage in the spring.

Safety step: A pair of busy East Side streets now offer walking instructions.

Cleveland crews relighted the pedestrian signals at the tricky intersection where Woodland Avenue and Kinsman Road meet East 55th Street. Road Rant noted the out-of-order devices in a previous column.