Roads with Amish to be safer soon

By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Gov. Bob Taft will sign a bill that would allow local governments to apply for state grants to improve safety on roads traveled by horse-drawn vehicles.
Taft spokesman Joe Andrews said a ceremony was still unscheduled for Taft, a Republican, to sign the bill, sponsored by state Rep. Anthony A. Latell Jr. of Girard, D-67th.
The bill, passed by the House in April and passed in the Senate last week, is aimed at improving the safety of roads near Amish communities, Latell said Monday.
"It's a safety issue for the driving public as well as for the slow-moving animal-drawn vehicles," he said.
At present, local governments near Amish communities have not been able to meet the criteria to receive grants through the Ohio Public Works Commission to improve the roads because of low traffic volumes and other reasons, said Latell.
"This now allows them to apply," Latell said of the affected local governments.
In 2000, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol statistics, there were no fatal crashes in the 135 crashes statewide involving animal-drawn vehicles. Of those crashes, however, 68 included injuries, according to state statistics.
Deaths, injuries
In 1999, four people were killed in crashes involving animal-drawn vehicles, and 144 were injured. A total of 161 crashes involved animal-drawn vehicles.
Right now, improvement projects that are eligible for state Issue 2 grants include roads and bridges, sewage treatment, water-supply and flood-control systems.
The bill would include additions to roads and bridges to enhance safety of animal-drawn buggies, pedestrians and bicycles as also being eligible for state funding.
New improvements that would be eligible, under the bill, include road widenings, pull-off lanes and flashing warning signs for buggies.