Resident: Close intersection

A developer wants trustees to reconsider a zone change they have rejected.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HOWLAND -- A township resident is calling for closing the intersection of state Route 82 and Howland Wilson Road and creating cul-de-sacs at the dead ends.
"We've got to do something down there," Thaddeus Price of Bradford Lane told township trustees Wednesday.
The intersection has been the scene of many traffic accidents. In the latest, Columbiana truck driver Michael A. Loparo, 50, was burned to death when trapped in his tractor-trailer rig after it struck the back of a car.
The car's driver, Deanna M. Teter-Maynard, 41, of Girard, and her three children escaped injury.
Price told trustees that construction of a bridge over Route 82 would take too long. Closing Howland Wilson at the intersection and constructing cul-de-sacs at its dead ends would be more expedient.
Price, a former truck driver, termed Loparo a hero for swerving and saving the lives of Teter-Maynard and her children.
Police Chief Paul Monroe disagreed. He said if it weren't for Loparo's lack of attention, the accident wouldn't have occurred -- adding that the real heroes are the drivers who obey the traffic laws.
What was suggested
Price suggested that gates with swipe cards be used for emergency vehicles to get from Route 82 onto Howland Wilson.
Price said he realizes that area residents would object to the closing because it would take longer for them to get to work.
Darlene St. George, township administrator, pointed out that the township doesn't have jurisdiction at the crossing. Howland Wilson, she noted, is used by an increasing number of motorists because of housing developments in that area.
The Ohio Department of Transportation controls Route 82, and the county has jurisdiction of Howland Wilson.
Meeting on rezoning
Also during the meeting, trustees set a public hearing for 6 p.m. April 11 at the administration building to reconsider the rezoning of the southwest corner of Niles-Cortland Road and Raglan Drive.
Earlier this month, trustees rejected the request by L3 Group Ltd. of Howland for a zone change on the more than two-acre parcel for construction of a 15,000-square-foot pharmacy with a drive-through.
Area residents objected, pointing out a pharmacy would clog traffic.
Trustees also set a public hearing for 5:30 p.m. April 12 to change a commercial zoning designation and permit construction of a Chick-Fil-A drive-through restaurant.
J.T. Management Ltd. of Howland wants to build the eatery on less than half an acre along Niles-Cortland, just north of Hidden Hills Drive.
In other business, trustees approved the purchase of five police cars through the state purchasing program for a total $85,965.
yovich@vindy.com