New tech lights being installed in Canfield

CANFIELD

Crews were installing new traffic lights at U.S. Route 224 and the Village Green Wednesday.

That intersection, state Route 46 and 224, is one of three in Canfield that will be controlled by cameras instead of loop technology, said city Manager Joe Warino.

The three intersections are: Routes 224 and 46; Hillside Drive and 224; and Cardinal Drive and 224. Warino explained those are the three busiest intersections in the city.

If emergency personnel are approaching the intersection — fire, police and ambulance vehicles — the lights will pick up the sound of their sirens.

“It automatically goes into red mode on all sides and lets emergency personnel go through,” Warino said.

Before Wednesday’s work, the technology had been installed so far at the Hillside intersection with the other two to follow.

That same intersection was the scene of an accident involving a trooper from the Ohio State Highway Patrol on Aug. 26, 2014. That official was responding to a backup call from Canfield Police Department for a person wanted on a warrant.

“It helps us get through the intersection safer and more timely,” said Rob Tieche Jr., director of emergency medical services with the Cardinal Joint Fire District. “We still have to proceed through with caution.”

Warino said the $700,000 project was 100 percent funded through the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

In another matter, Brent Kovacs, an ODOT spokesman, said the reconstruction and widening of Route 224 over state Route 11 will start March 23, but cautioned that is dependent on the weather.

Read more about the project in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.