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WOODSFIELD -- The Ohio Department of Transportation's revised intersection safety project got the green light earlier this week once Woodsfield Village Council voted to approve it.
Village Administrator Kevin Brooks said council unanimously approved the project revisions, choosing the "third option" of the proposed plans, during Monday's evening meeting. He said the village was provided three different options for the intersection improvements. They included discontinuing the project altogether as well as two alternatives to removing the median islands, which has been a concern for many.
The $900,000 ODOT-funded project has been in the works for more than two years and was supposed to get underway this summer. However, due to pushback from the community regarding the removal of the island medians, ODOT revised its original plans and presented alternative options for the village to choose from and approve.
During Monday's meeting the village opted to go with the third option, which includes leaving the islands in place, the removal of left turn lanes on Main Street, new crosswalks, widening of the intersection and possible reverse parking.
Brooks said the village was never in favor of removing the islands and has always insisted that the islands be retained if at all possible.
"The village has never had an issue with the islands being maintained there, that's never been the issue. The issue is that we just want the project to move forward. … Council unanimously asked ODOT to retain the islands in some shape or form, and we were told the project would be based on safety," he said.
Brooks said the village's main priority is the safety aspects the project will bring to the downtown area.
"There's more to this project than just the islands. There's mast arm signalization at three intersections, that's six mast arms that we're getting. We're getting all new signalization. There will be countdown heads on the crosswalks … Those allow people to know how much time they have to cross the road," he said.
The road on the south quadrant is around 1 foot lower than the curb. The project will include raising the road to meet the curb line. Brooks said this will not only improve accessibility but also improve storm drainage. Additionally, all the parking meters in the downtown area will be removed and replaced with new parking spots, sidewalks will be replaced, and decorative greenery and landscape areas will be installed on at least two of the road corners.
Brooks said the project will promote job creation, safety, downtown beautification and businesses will benefit.
"It's going to be a wonderful project. … It's going to beautify the downtown square; it's going to be cleaner, neater and more functional," he added.
Although the project has been approved, some county officials are unhappy with the decision. Commissioner Mick Schumacher said he and fellow Commissioners Diane Burkhart and Bill Bolon were not given the opportunity to speak during the council meeting because they failed to pre-register to do so prior to the meeting. Following the meeting, Schumacher posted a letter on social media that commissioners had planned to address to council. He said the board is not in favor of the revised option's reverse parking implementation.
"We were going to make a presentation at the council meeting, but they didn't allow us to do it," he said. "… They said we were not on the agenda so they had no obligation to allow us to speak."
Schumacher said he just wanted to let residents know that the square is owned by the village, thus leaving any decision made up to council and not the county. He said he believes the project will lead to a reduction in traffic flow that will be "detrimental" to the square.
In response, Brooks said the reverse parking is only a small portion of the project and the village must still approve, or disapprove, the new design that is set to be presented to council next month. He said the new design work could not be completed until council approved the project.
"The village will review those drawings, make comments as needed to move the project forward," he said.
Brooks said with the removal of the turn lanes there will be a "service lane" that will allow space for people to safely back into parking spots along the village square without disturbing the flow of traffic. He said village officials also have some concerns with the project that they are hoping will be addressed once the designs are submitted.
"The first thing is the flow of traffic, and the second thing we are concerned with is the elimination of downtown parking spaces because parking is vital to our downtown businesses. But, until we see the design, there's nothing to argue about," he said.
Council will next meet at 5:30 p.m. July 5 at the village municipal building, located at 221 S. Main St., Woodsfield.