Friday, November 30, 2001
The group will clean four times in 12 months.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- A stretch of road in the township has recently acquired a group of parents.
The Market Street Business Alliance has adopted the portion of Market Street from Midlothian Boulevard to U.S. Route 224. The group will be out Sunday picking up trash and beautifying the busy business area.
Alliance member and township trustee Tom Costello said the group took part in an Ohio Department of Transportation program that allows organizations to adopt major highways. The organization must agree to clean up the stretch of road four times a year for two years.
What's planned: Alliance members, about 40 in all, will meet at Burgan Real Estate at noon Sunday and divide into teams to get the cleaning done.
ODOT sent an adviser to explain safety measures in cleaning along a busy highway. ODOT will also supply the needed safety vest and garbage bags, and will pick up and dispose of the bags.
Costello said there doesn't seem to be a large amount of trash thrown along the road, but the group is hoping to control the situation before it has the opportunity to become a serious problem.
"We are just trying to let everybody know that Market Street is a good place to do business," said Costello. "We think it is very important to be proactive in maintaining the area where we do business."
Costello said this first of four cleanings should set the tone for the future. He said other property owners along Market Street may feel a sense of renewed pride in the area and increase their efforts to improve it.
The next clean up date will likely be set in the spring. Group members hope more business and property owners along the street come out to help with the cleaning efforts at that time.
The alliance has been instrumental in getting street lights along Market Street and hanging the American flag along the stretch of road.
jgoodwin@vindy.com