CANFIELD Trustees address woes from fair traffic snarl

Renovations to the sheriff substation will begin in early 2004.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Township trustees awarded a contract to rebuild a culvert washed out during summer storms and discussed standstill Canfield Fair traffic along Leffingwell Road.
According to Bill Reese, chairman, the police agencies directing traffic around the fairgrounds were not responsible for the problems.
During the fair, Leffingwell Road residents display special placards on their vehicles and are given preferential treatment by those directing traffic so they can get to their homes. This year, however, traffic that came to a standstill prevented many residents from getting into or out of their driveways and triggered a slew of complaints.
The unusual traffic congestion resulted from heavy rains that made some fairground parking areas inaccessible, slowing the stream of vehicles that needed to be directed around swampy parking lots, Reese said.
With that amount of rain making parking areas inaccessible, he said, "there is no perfect solution to the traffic problem."
The fair board, however, is "fully aware of every complaint" and plans to address the situation, Reese said. One of the things the fair board plans to do, he added, "is train those directing traffic to be more cognizant of the people who live on Leffingwell."
Culvert replacement
In other business at their recent meeting, trustees awarded a contract to rebuild a culvert on St. Andrews that was washed out during a storm July 10 to Marucci & amp; Gaffney of Salem.
Marucci & amp; Gaffney submitted the low bid, $154,450.
Cost of the project, including engineering, required soil tests, contingencies and repairs, is expected to be $210,320, Reese said.
Issue 2 money will provide $99,036 of the funding, with sales-tax revenues previously earmarked for renovating the township maintenance building expected to provide the rest, Reese said.
Renovations to the maintenance building, also known as the sheriff substation, will begin in early 2004 with next year's sales-tax revenues paying for the project. The project was pushed back, Reese said, because all of the bids came in over the estimate.
Before sales-tax revenues can be used for the culvert project, Mahoning County commissioners must approve the plan.
kubik@vindy.com