LORDSTOWN Village to seek sidewalk funds

Officials must meet next week's deadline to apply for grants.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- Village officials will apply for state money to have new sidewalks installed along some of its busier roads.
Ron Barnhart, planning and zoning administrator, will apply for money from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to help pay for the expected $118,000 project.
Council members have already given Barnhart verbal approval to apply for the grants, which have deadlines of next week, but formal action is expected at next Monday's regular meeting.
Previously, village officials had discussed installing new sidewalks on state Route 45 from Salt Springs Road to the village park, as well as from the same intersection east to the village administration building and south to the Dairy Queen.
Cost of plan
The project has since been scaled down because of costs. Barnhart told council that running 3,200 feet of sidewalk to the park and 1,350 to the administration building would total $118,000 in construction and engineering costs. The village would be responsible for roughly $12,000, he said.
Council had also discussed running the sidewalks on the west side of state Route 45, to have them on the same side as the schools, and then installing a crosswalk at the park. But officials expressed concerns over the traffic near the park, as well as the fact that there's a slight hill in the road there that could make the area dangerous for pedestrians.
Running a sidewalk from the intersection to the administration building is meant to hook up with an anticipated bike trail, which would link the village to the proposed Greenway Bike Trail in Weathersfield Township and Niles.
slshaulis@vindy.com