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Poland sidewalk one step closer to completion
POLAND
Township officials have reached an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to extend the new sidewalk that stretches along state Route 170 in the township to connect with the sidewalk on 170 in the village.
Although installation of the sidewalk wrapped up at the end of summer, village and township officials wanted to extend the sidewalk across two properties on Route 170 near Nesbitt Street that were not included in the project, and which left a gap between the new sidewalk in the township and the existing sidewalk in the village.
The township received $500,000 from a grant program called Safe Routes to Schools to install the sidewalk, and construction took place over the summer. Township Trustee Bob Lidle said grant money will cover the estimated $12,000 cost of extending the sidewalk.
“We’ve always wanted to have it go the whole way, but ODOT said initially that they wanted it to go to the township line,” Lidle said. “We’re very appreciative that ODOT has stepped up to the plate. They’ve been very, very cooperative with everything we’ve asked them for.”
Lidle said work on the new patch of sidewalk will begin as soon as the weather permits and that it should be complete within the next few weeks.
Village council President Joe Mazur said village officials are happy the issue was resolved, and they appreciate the way the township handled it.
“It was a big mess in the beginning,” he said. But “the village is happy with it. [Lidle] kept me informed.”
Lidle said another finishing touch to the project that soon will be complete is construction of a wall at Denver Drive and Route 170.
“We’re moving along slowly but surely,” he said. “We’re going to get this thing done.”
The response from the community to the new sidewalk has been very positive so far, he said.
“The community has really embraced this, more so than I even thought they would,” he said.