SHELBY — Joe Gies and Lance Combs agreed Tuesday morning that Shelby’s Mansfield Avenue has been the city’s most significant area of growth over the past five to 10 years.
Travelers entering the city’s southeast end via State Route 39 are met with several car dealerships, businesses and a pair of industrial campuses — including Lloyd Rebar and Stanley Black & Decker.
Additionally, development of a future Mickey Mart gas station — including a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise — has begun near the intersection of Mansfield Avenue and Lamplighter Lane.
Tuesday morning, the Shelby Traffic Commission spoke with Michael Schweickart about options to help improve traffic safety in this area.
Schweickart, of TMS Engineers, Inc., presented three proposals for engineering services related to increased development and traffic along Mansfield Avenue.
Access management policy a priority, says Schweickart
Schweickart presented the three proposals in order of what he felt was most important to the City of Shelby.
First was a proposal to provide traffic engineering services for the preparation of an access management and access request policy for Shelby, based upon recommended practices from municipalities with similar characteristics.
This policy requires developers of new facilities and those who re-develop existing facilities to provide the city technical information about their project, in order to determine if any mitigation would be recommended.
Schweickart said a policy such as access management is important to have in city code.
“I believe this should be the most important thing that you do, because it will head off future problems before they get started,” he said.
According to Schweickart’s proposal, this option could be completed within four weeks for a cost not to exceed $3,500.
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Area-wide study of Mansfield Avenue/Ohio 39
The second proposal includes professional traffic engineering services around the area of Mansfield Avenue and Ohio 39.
Scope of services include site inspection and data collection, traffic counts, existing and future conditions analysis, design year forecast and signal warrant and safety analysis.
TMS Engineers will recommend a plan based on the data collected and provide a written report. Estimated costs of any probable construction will be included.
Schweickart said this option can be completed within six weeks for a lump-sum fee of $14,220.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Shelby Traffic Commission members unanimously voted to proceed with the first two plans presented by Schweickart — provided funding is available.
“For me, it’s important that we correct what we’ve overlooked in the past,” said Combs, Shelby’s police chief.
“If we want to do this correctly and professionally move forward, we need to move forward with the first two (proposals), wait, pause, see if we do anything with the first two and then do (option) three.
“I also think that there is an opportunity here for us to go to one of these larger businesses that is impacted directly by this and ask if they would be willing to split or share some of the cost of this study,” Combs said.
Option Three: Speed limit reduction may be unnecessary
Schweickart’s third proposal included speed zone data collection and analysis for the section of road between Seneca Drive to the city’s southern corporation line.
The speed limit along this section of road is currently 45 miles per hour.
This study would cost a lump-sum fee of $6,980 and be completed within six weeks — but may not be necessary after the first two proposals are completed.
If findings from the study between Seneca Drive to the southern corporation line reveal the necessity for a traffic signal at the intersection of Wareham Road and Mansfield Avenue, Schweickart said speed zone data collection might be unnecessary.
“Typically ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) doesn’t allow us to do that (conduct study before a traffic signal is placed). They said, ‘Don’t give me the study until after the traffic signal is in,'” he said.
“That’s the reason I said I think this (speed zone data collection and analysis) is the third important proposal and that the other two are probably of much higher importance to you (Shelby).”