Residents plead for relief from fair traffic

One woman complained of being stopped for hours on her own street.
& lt;a href=mailto:milliken@vindy.com & gt;By PETER MILLIKEN & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Something must be done to alleviate potentially dangerous traffic gridlock during the Canfield Fair, residents of Leffingwell Road told township trustees.
"We would like your help in getting the Mahoning County sheriff to be in charge of Leffingwell Road and Raccoon Road during the fair traffic," said Lisa Ferguson. "It was terrible this year, and we need your help to do something about it."
She noted at Monday's trustees meeting that some of those directing traffic were not law enforcement officers and wondered why traffic was being diverted out of the city and into the township.
"It's totally out of our jurisdiction. That's a county road," said Trustee Chairman William Reese, referring to Leffingwell Road. "We don't even have our own police department. We rely on the sheriff's department."
Reese said he would meet with fair board members concerning traffic control issues. "I understand the problem, and I sympathize with you, and we will see what we can do to help solve the problem," Reese said, adding that this year's wet weather contributed to the problem.
Because of heavy rains, cars got stuck in muddy grass parking lots and had to be towed; some parking areas had to be closed; and school buses had to be used as shuttles to bring people to the fairgrounds from alternative parking sites.
Residents were trapped
Traffic was so heavy that Leffingwell Road residents couldn't get in and out of their driveways to run errands, Ferguson said. One of her neighbors, who cut her head in a fall, could not have her son drive her to the emergency room because of the traffic, and had to call and pay for an ambulance, Ferguson told trustees. "Things like that are not acceptable," she added.
At one point, traffic was so gridlocked on the two-lane road that "We had absolutely no way to get an ambulance or a firetruck down our road if it was needed," said Patricia Tremayne, another Leffingwell resident.
Mindy Cline complained she spent 21/2 hours in traffic on Leffingwell. Some people directing traffic did not extend the proper courtesies to those who showed official placards designating them as Leffingwell Road residents needing priority access to their homes, she said. "Would you please help us as a community?" she implored the trustees.
"The city, the township, the fair and the schools work together because we're in one community. And I hear you saying, 'Let's improve it,'" said Dante Zambrini, schools superintendent, adding that he would work to improve traffic flow for future fairs.
& lt;a href=mailto:milliken@vindy.com & gt;milliken@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;