Richland Moves members hear about future Trimble Road expansion

At a recent meeting, Mansfield City Engineer Bob Bianchi described ideas about improving the area of Trimble Road between Marion Avenue and Cook Road. At the meeting were members of Creating Healthy Communities, a grant project of Richland Public Health and Richland Moves. The project will include more traffic lanes and a multi-use path that could one day be accessible to the Richland B & O Trail.

Bianchi said the main impetus for the project is safety but there are also other reasons. “Cook Road and Marion Avenue are actually rated among the top 10 in the city and the top 15 in the county for high crash hot spots,” he told those in attendance at the Mansfield Richland County Public Library.

“There are also congestion issues…what we are seeing is an increased level of congestion and a decreased level of service at the intersections. And, also, there is economic development. We actually have developers that want to see this happen and when they see this happen they may be more ready to act.”

Bianchi said his department has submitted an application for federal funding for the 5,600 feet of roadway improvement project.

“We were successful in obtaining about 80 percent of the grant money for this improvement project,” he said. “In addition, we are looking for state funding that would add up to about another 10 percent. So, we’ve got a project here, in the city of Mansfield, we hope to get 90 percent outside funding, which is pretty significant.”

The area of Trimble Road between Marion Avenue and Cook Road is considered “the deficient link,” said Bianchi. “It’s one of the only two-lane sections left.”

The mile-long stretch of land is a “hot spot” for economic development with the recent building and opening of the Veterans Administration hospital, Ashland University’s College of Nursing and student housing.

“The bottom line is, that this is an exciting piece of property in terms of economic development inside the city of Mansfield,” he said.

Bianchi said the project will also make that section of Trimble Road into four lanes and five at the intersections.

“As you know also, Trimble Road does not accommodate pedestrians. There are no sidewalks. There are sidewalks to the north and the south, so an important part of this project is to accommodate pedestrians,” he said. “At a minimum we want to put sidewalks in.”

In addition to the road improvements, Bianchi said he hopes to incorporate a 10-foot multi-use path that can accommodate cyclists, walkers and small forms of motorized transportation.

“Trimble Road is a health services corridor,” he said. “Including a multi-use path might promote the healthy lifestyle.”

Bianchi explained that the only issue with a possible multi-use path is the isolation from other parts of town.

“We do not have funds to continue it and stretch it to Lexington Avenue or to the north,” he said. “I have asked the technical advisory committee (TAC) to weigh in on this piece.”

Bianchi said he plans to award the Trimble Road expansion project to Richland Engineering at Tuesday’s Mansfield City Council meeting. “It has an aggressive schedule. We would like to see this starting to be built in 2016.”

Bianchi and others also mentioned the growing movement of “complete streets.” The movement is the notion of making all streets more accessible to walkers, cyclists and more forms of transportation other than fast moving cars.

“I think it’s a good start,” said Karyl Price of Richland Public Health. “As they develop that property and that space, they may see that as an opportunity to link to people who walk or cycle. I think maybe it lends itself to enhanced public transportation drop off sites, bus stops and walking areas. I just think it’s a good thing. There are too many places where the sidewalk ends and to many people who have developed things…without considering how those could be linked to pedestrians or cyclists.”

@angelnichole222