BELMONT AVENUE Objection fails to halt work on bus stop

One rest area will sit on a doctor's private property.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- Plans to install a dual-purpose rest area and bus stop in front of the Ohio Foot Institute on Belmont Avenue will move forward despite the property owner's objections.
Township officials teamed with the Liberty Business Association and Western Reserve Transit Authority earlier this year to spruce up bus stops along Belmont Avenue. They plan to install 10 updated rest areas/bus stops, with flowers, green space, benches, trash receptacles and paving as part of a beautification plan.
Objection
Dr. Phil Davidson objected to the work being done in front of his building at 3200 Belmont Ave. He said officials did not make him aware of the work beforehand and a rest area would generate trash.
Davidson also said the rest area is impractical because the area does not generate enough foot traffic to warrant a rest area.
Davidson wants the rest area moved next door in front of a vacant building.
Work continues
Township officials said Friday that work at the site in front of Davidson's building would be put on hold, but the appearance of workers laying concrete over the weekend made it clear the work would continue.
Township Trustee Jodi Stoyak said none of the three township trustees was willing to allow the project to wait. She said the project is a positive thing for the community that has been put on hold too long.
"This project has been in the works for several years and these sites were coordinated with WRTA," she said. "This is all positive and it is going to be a beautiful project. I am sorry that Dr. Davidson is so upset, but it is going to be a beautiful project."
On his property
The initial plans for the stop went beyond the public right of way, encroaching upon the doctor's property by more than two feet. Stoyak said that problem has been rectified and the rest area will be completely on public property.
Davidson said he was disappointed to see that trustees decided to move forward with the project and he plans to continue his fight to have the rest area moved. He said he will be addressing trustees and conferring with an attorney.
"They might be able to do this legally, but morally and practically it makes absolutely no sense," he said.
jgoodwin@vindy.com