NEW MIDDLETOWN Traffic signal to be installed; official offers details about it

The village had asked that a traffic light be considered for a different location.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- A traffic signal will be installed at state Route 170 and Calla Road before next winter.
Bill Barlow, program manager at Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, told village council members Monday that the signal will include "loop detectors," which will be activated by vehicles on Calla Road. He said this does not mean the light on state Route 170 will never turn red unless a vehicle is on Calla, only that it will turn red less frequently than a standard traffic light.
Councilman Dan Santangelo asked whether the light could revert to a two-way stop during off-peak hours. Barlow said that's possible.
Barlow told council the state asked him to do a traffic study in response to a citizen complaint about the intersection, which is a two-way stop.
Results of study
He said his study showed the traffic volume at the intersection meets the standard for a traffic light. In addition, 9 percent of the traffic coming from Calla Road is trucks. That's considered an unusually high volume and bolstered the case for a traffic light.
Barlow said preliminary work will begin in the spring so the light can be installed before winter.
The only portion of the intersection that is in the village is the east side of Calla Road. The remainder is in Springfield Township.
Although council members said they are glad the light is being installed, Mayor Robert Carson said council actually wanted a traffic light at state Route 170 and Woodland Drive, just south of that location.
Also Monday, police Chief Bill Morvay said that if the library moves from the municipal building to another location, he would like council to let the police department have some of the vacant space.
Carson said after the meeting that there are unconfirmed reports that officials of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County have purchased the old Hallmark store at Woodland Drive and state Route 170 for the village library. County library officials had recently recommended the branch library in the village move into a bigger building.
Also on agenda
In other action:
USuzanne Tucci of the Visiting Nurse Association asked council's support for the Mahoning County Senior Services 1-mill levy, which is on the March 2 ballot. Tucci said the money would fund services to senior citizens ranging from home-delivered meals to transportation.
UAccepted the resignation, with regret, of Police Officer Mike Shane. Shane, who works part time for the village, resigned because of a scheduling conflict with his full-time job.