MOUNT VERNON – Sandusky Street opened fully to traffic, though supply chain issues have delayed installation of traffic lights, Mayor Matt Starr said.
“Hallelujah. I mean, that's big, big news right there; that's awesome. We still have some work to do there, but north and southbound traffic are flowing freely,” he told the Mount Vernon News.
The city hopes to get the light poles and arms for the traffic lights to arrive in January. For now, a stop sign will require motorists on Belmont Street to wait for a break in traffic to enter Sandusky Street.
Crews will still be working, as they need to do more sealing and put down some topsoil, Starr said. But the road is much safer with bigger turning lanes.
The city will put down another layer of asphalt in the spring, when hot mix becomes available again, but he said there was no need to keep the street closed until then.
Curb and gutter
The city met with its contractor for the brick street project at Oak and Catherine streets and learned that while the curb and gutters seemed off on South Catherine Street, it wasn’t as bad as first thought. It was within an inch to 2 1/2 inches off.
The problem has to do with the Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible sidewalk as well as the slope of the land. All of the bricks will be installed on Catherine and Oak streets before a stormwater issue also caused by topography is fixed. After that work is finished, the city will go back to look at the problematic driveways.
“We believe that Catherine Street should be open by the sixth, and Oak Street opened by the 10th,” he said.
Constraints of the federal grant and the driveways make it difficult.
“If you look at the proximity of the home and the garages to the road, it's very short,” Starr said.
Installing a nearly flat sidewalk next to a steep grade for the driveway, followed by another drop as the driveway connects to the street, makes it difficult not to bottom out, he said.
“It's an old part of town and so there are homes that were built very close to the road. And so we're going to take a look and see what we can do to be able to make sure that those problematic driveways are going to be OK,” he said.
If a resident has an SUV, it’s not going to be a problem, he said. But sedans will have problems.
Parks
The Parks Department installed the lights on Public Square in time for Saturday’s Christmas parade and the lighting on the square, he said.
Job openings
The Civil Service Office has maintenance worker and pipe fitter jobs open for civil service exams.
These are entry-level positions, and the exam will be held on Dec. 15. Deadline for the applications is Friday, Dec. 10.
Applications are available online at MountVernonOhio.org under the Civil Service tab. Or interested applicants can stop by City Hall in the Safety-Service director’s office or in the Civil Service office, Starr said.
Streets
The leaf season continues, with quite a bit of leaves left, so city crews continue to head out. Twenty loads of leaves were collected last week.
“But there still are some leaves on the tree, so we understand, and we're ready for snow, and we're ready for leaves at the same time,” he said.
Leaf collection trucks will be converted to snow removal trucks.
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