ODOT Sets Timeline on Creation of Buggy Lanes
The handful of residents attending the public hearing on buggy lanes in Middlefield Township spoke out in favor of the project during a meeting at the Middlefield Township garage May 17, said Trustee Robert Troyer.
The handful of residents attending the public hearing on buggy lanes in Middlefield Township spoke out in favor of the project during a meeting at the Middlefield Township garage May 17, said Trustee Robert Troyer.
Brian Blayney, Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 traffic planning engineer, gave a presentation on the buggy lanes proposed to be paved along nearly two miles of state Route 87 east of Middlefield Village.
The slide show and Blayney’s comments took more than two hours and was very thorough, Troyer said.
First proposed in 2000, the purpose of the project is to improve safety for vehicle and buggy traffic on one of the main roads into Middlefield, upgrade undersized and deteriorated culverts and improve sight distance east of Hayes Road, according to the presentation.
Originally, The Amish Buggy Safety on Ohio’s State Roadway System Analysis and Action Plan showed 64 questionnaires were returned to ODOT indicating residents’ concerns for the 1.8-mile stretch of state Route 87 from state Route 528 to the county line or Bundysburg Road.
The stretch of the road is heavily populated by Amish and has a high number of youth walking along the road to the Amish school, according to Blayney’s 2016 density map of Amish school age kids.
Troyer said only three of the residents attending said they live along that stretch, but all had experience with traffic and pedestrians there and agreed it is dangerous.
The $2 million project, planned for the summer of 2020, will require Route 87 to be closed for up to five months to vehicle traffic. Local and buggy traffic will be permitted except for about 45 days when culverts will be replaced under the highway.
“It’s a long time, but that’s the price you pay for safety,” Troyer said. “All the main arteries through Middlefield should have buggy lanes.”
The phase one archeological study was completed in 2016, as was the ecological survey, showing no historic properties will be affected by the project. Also, trees in the right-of-way must be cut between Oct. 1 and March 31.
ODOT’s environmental site assessment report was completed for phase two and showed no hazardous or regulated materials were found.
Residents are urged to contact ODOT with concerns about business or property impacts, property access concerns, underground features or environmental issues.
“ODOT will consider input prior to finalizing the preferred alternative,” according to the presentation.
The next step, scheduled for fall 2017 through winter 2018, is to prepare the plans for taking down the hill and paving buggy lanes.
Right-of-ways will be purchased and utilities relocated by spring 2019. By the fall of 2019, the project will begin and is planned to be complete in the summer of 2020.
Comments will be taken by June 2017 if mailed, faxed or emailed to Tom Sorge, Environmental Specialist ODOT District 12, 5500 Transportation Boulevard Garfield Heights, OH 44125 E-mail: Tom.Sorge@dot.ohio.gov Fax: 216-584-2274.
