Grant to aid Glenwood sidewalk installation

The library director pointed to accessibility and benefits of walking.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- A collaboration among the township, school district and public library produced a grant to install sidewalks along part of Glenwood Avenue.
The township received a transportation enhancement grant through Eastgate Regional Council of Governments for $156,160, which will pay 80 percent of the project cost. The remaining 20 percent, about $39,000, will come from township funds.
Trustee Kathy Miller said that schools Superintendent Frank Lazzeri and Carlton Sears, director of the Public Library of Youngstown & amp; Mahoning County, submitted letters supporting the project as part of the grant application. Former Administrator Curt B. Seditz completed the grant application in March.
The 5-foot-wide sidewalk will run 3,800 feet along the west side of Glenwood Avenue from U.S. Route 224 to the township's library branch. Sidewalks are in place along portions of the east side of Glenwood. Eight handicap-accessible ramps are to be included, making the project compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Miller said that initially the township didn't get funding for the project. But when Poland Township decided to turn down a $163,989 grant for a sidewalk project along state Route 170 because of the costs, money was freed up for Boardman's project, she said.
Transportation enhancement grants are generally awarded for pedestrian projects, Eastgate officials have said.
Benefits of sidewalks
The new walkways "will spur community pride, increase property values and increase economic development as the pedestrian travel on Glenwood Avenue increases between the Boardman Plaza and the Boardman Library, including the school and church locations," the grant application states.
In Sears' letter supporting the project, he wrote that employees of the Boardman library branch unanimously support the idea, believing the walkway would benefit patrons and staff.
"For example, children from a Head Start program headquartered at St. James Episcopal Church at 7640 Glenwood Ave. must presently walk across grass and church parking lots to attend library programs," he wrote. "This difficulty limits the frequency and duration of their visits."
Walkways also fit in with the library wellness committee's promotion of the benefits of exercise through walking, the director said.
"Sidewalks along the west side of Glenwood Avenue would expand the travel choices of local citizens wishing to access shops, churches, schools and of course the library," he wrote in the letter.
Safety issue
Lazzeri's letter points to children's safety.
"Glenwood Avenue is a busy street; this sidewalk would greatly reduce risks for the children of our community," the superintendent wrote.
He said that more than 200 Boardman school pupils live within walking distance to the library.
Trustees have not yet voted to advertise for bids for the project, but Miller said she expects preliminary work to begin later this year.