Compromise reached on W. Federal plan

Two opponents of the previous plan say they approve of the latest one.

By DENISE DICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — It’s a compromise involving 80 parking slots and 18 trees.

City council’s building and grounds committee met Friday afternoon to learn the latest plan for the tree-lined medians along a portion of West Federal Street.

Committee members voted to recommend the plan to city council.

Planning for the $550,000 project began about two years ago, and work was to start this month. But opposition from several members of the public sent the plan back to the drawing board.

That plan, which drew criticism at a public meeting last month, called for removing the medians with 22 trees on West Federal between Fifth Avenue and Phelps Street and replacing them with smaller ones.

It also changed parking from 42 parallel spots to 66 diagonal parking places.

The city also plans to resurface the street and make additional infrastructure improvements.

Description

Carmen Conglose Jr., the city’s deputy director of public works, described the plan unveiled Friday as a compromise.

“It’s taken as many comments and considerations into account,” Conglose said, adding that the project must be done within the constraints of an Ohio Public Works grant the city received.

It removes about half the medians while providing green space and additional diagonal parking and maintaining some parallel parking spaces.

Diagonal parking also will be added along Vindicator Square and Symphony Place, formerly Chestnut Street.

A cost estimate hasn’t been determined, although it’s not expected to exceed the $550,000 cost of the previous plan.

Activists Phil Kidd and Paul Hagman, who had opposed the previous plan, gave thumbs up to the latest one.

“This is a compromise,” Kidd said. “This is what happens with collaboration. The public, the planning department, the public works department — we all worked together.”

Hagman also was pleased.

“I think this addresses all of the issues that we had,” he said.