Committee unveils 65th route revision

The latest version of the proposed bike path would run about 4.7 miles.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- Village leaders and residents are hoping 65 is the magic number.
Since plans for a section of bike trail were resurrected more than six months ago, the actual path the trail would take has been revised 65 times, Lordstown Zoning Inspector Ron Barnhart explained Wednesday at a meeting of the Lordstown Bike Trail Committee.
All of the plans featured routes that would travel from the center of Lordstown and hook up with a section of bike trail being built in Weathersfield Township and Niles.
The exact path, however, has changed repeatedly as stumbling blocks have arisen: resistance from Niles residents who had safety issues and concerns the path would cross too close to their homes; issues related to running proposed routes around the perimeter of property owned by the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District; even extreme increases in costs when certain routes called for the construction of bridges.
But now, the committee thinks it has a plan that will work.
"We may have some minor issues with land acquisition," said Mayor Michael Chaffee. "But even that shouldn't be much of a problem since for the most part it's a pretty clear shot."
Recent proposal
The most recent route proposal would lead from behind the village administration building on Salt Springs Road toward Weathersfield Township, but juts off the main road to follow power lines just before Austintown-Warren Road. From there, plans call for the route to follow the same easements used by Ohio Edison for the power lines, before it crosses MVSD property and hooks up with Niles' portion of the Lake to River Bike Trail on state Route 46 in Mineral Ridge.
The Lordstown portion of the trail would run approximately 4.7 miles.
The village has already received $1.1 million in funding for engineering and construction of the path, Barnhart said. The village will be responsible for 20 percent of the engineering costs -- which is expected to run between $20,000 and $40,000, Barnhart said -- and none of the construction costs.
Aiming for 2005
Timing is the issue now, he added, saying the engineering must be complete by June 2005 so construction could begin in fiscal year 2007.
"At some point, we are going to need to have a meeting with the public, especially the landowners who will be directly affected by the route, to explain the plans," said Councilman William Dray, who also serves on the committee.
In the meantime, Barnhart and Chaffee agreed that MVSD officials need to be addressed again about the updated route to ensure the trail can take the latest proposed path and that MVSD employees will still have needed access to all points of the property.
Earlier this year, the MVSD board of directors said they were in favor of the plan but had some legal concerns, specifically the access issues.
Lordstown officials said they hope to address the MVSD directors as the next regular meeting, tentatively scheduled for next week.
slshaulis@vindy.com