DOWNTOWN Warren panel pushes Market-Park left turns

The signs were removed on a trial basis after an August traffic commission meeting.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The city's traffic commission is recommending the permanent removal of signs prohibiting left turns east and west on Market Street and south on Park Avenue.
William Totten, director of the department of engineering, planning and building, wrote a memo to members of the city traffic commission containing the recommendation.
At a commission meeting in August, members decided to have the signs removed on a 60-day trial basis.
"This department has not received any complaints during the 60-day trial and recommends removal of the signs be made permanent," Totten's memo says.
Tristan Hand, commission chairman, said that at its meeting Thursday the commission made the recommendation to city council to make removal permanent.
Parking ordinance
Commission members also will ask city council to amend its downtown ordinance to allow overnight parking in designated parking spaces in the central business district.
"It's designed for residents and for businesses that stay open until 2:30 in the morning," Hand said.
Under current city law, on-street parking for longer than 30 minutes is prohibited between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. anywhere except for physicians on emergency calls and public safety vehicles.
Some downtown property owners had complained that their tenants weren't able to park without being ticketed.
The recommendation comes after a report by a commission subcommittee of Anthony Iannucci, director of Warren Redevelopment and Planning; Michael Keys, community development director; and councilmen Alford L. Novak, D-2nd, and Robert Holmes III, D-4th.
Central system
Totten's memo to the commission also says that a project to tie city traffic signals into one central system is near completion. The project has been in the works for years. Some lights were removed and new lights were erected at other intersections as part of the project.
The Ohio Department of Transportation hasn't finalized the project but has started scheduling final inspections. The signal timing is being entered into the central computer, the memo says.
denise_dick@vindy.com