Residents ask for help with controlling traffic

The planning commission opposes a provision of the state's new Jobs Ready Sites Program.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Andy Sperhac and neighbors of Howland's Forest Hills neighborhood are asking Trumbull County to help control traffic on a new road.
They were unaware that a road connecting the neighborhood and the nearby Bennington Ridge neighborhood was being built, he said, until they recently saw trees being cut down.
Neighbors discovered that a developer had been granted permission last July to extend the road.
Sperhac and neighbors are concerned that people will try to use the road, still under construction, as a shortcut between the busy Eastwood Mall area to the east and state Route 82 area to the north.
Sperhac attended Tuesday's Trumbull County Planning Commission meeting and presented the board with a petition signed by 49 neighbors, asking that something be done to keep the two developments from being overrun with traffic.
Neighbors concerned
Sperhac told the planning commission his neighbors are concerned that traffic could become so heavy that it might be dangerous for the children to ride their bicycles.
Sperhac asked the commission if the road could be restricted to emergency vehicle use. He said residents have told him they believe the road could be beneficial if it provides better access for police, fire and ambulance services.
Dave Dubiaga, the planning commission's plats and zoning coordinator, said such a question would need to be addressed by a lawyer, but he thinks it is a possibility. The commission voted to refer the matter back to the zoning and plats committee to consider at a future meeting.
Planning commission member Jeff Brown, who said he drives through the area regularly, said he believes the new access will be used mostly by residents of the two developments and will be viewed positively by them.
He doubted that it would be used by people outside of the neighborhood, especially because of the amount of turns a driver would have to make and because of the area's residential nature. "The public is not going to cut through there," he said.
Sperhac said he wished there was some type of notification system in place so that residents could have been aware that the such a road was under consideration and expressed their concerns about it then. Dubiaga said notices are sent to various agencies, such as the county engineer's office, but not to nearby homes.
Jobs Ready Sites Program
In other action, the commission voted to write a letter to the Ohio Department of Development asking that the state reconsider the criteria it may be planning to use for the Jobs Ready Sites Program. It provides state money for infrastructure improvements to help develop industrial parks.
The program was part of the state Issue 1 ballot issue approved by voters last November, said Alan Knapp, director of the planning commission. But part of the criteria for the program is that it be used only for projects on 150 acres or more, which excludes most projects within urban areas, he said, including projects he would like to see in Trumbull County.
Knapp said he doesn't believe the 150-acre provision has been finalized, but there is some urgency to ensure that the provision is changed. He said the state has set deadlines within a couple of months for proposals to be submitted.
In other business, Knapp said work will begin within the next week or so on the state Route 5/Ohio Turnpike ramp improvements and sewer project. Also, commission members learned that county Commissioners Dan Polivka and Paul Heltzel would like to put on hold a proposal to hire an additional planner.
runyan@vindy.com