MANSFIELD — The next step toward improving safety at one of the most accident-prone intersections in Mansfield is expected to come Tuesday night.
City Council is scheduled to discuss accepting a $639,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation to replace and upgrade the traffic signals at the intersection of Trimble Road and Park Avenue West.
The total project is estimated at $763,500 with $124,500 coming from local funds, according to City of Mansfield engineer Bob Bianchi.
The grant was announced in May 2024 by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks.
It was one of more than than two dozen road safety projects announced then that target areas with a history of severe and deadly crashes.
The projects were identified in 22 counties with a total cost of $87 million, including 19 new roundabouts.
City of Mansfield engineer Bob Bianchi said Monday the project would likely not be done until 2028 due to the need to acquire various right-of-way agreements.
Bianchi credited ODOT District 3 officials for helping secure the state funding, which will cover 83 percent of the costs.
“Without them, the city would not have received this funding,” he said.
“(ODOT District 3 transportation engineer) Katherine Wade called me and pointed out the Park Avenue West/Trimble Road intersection is on the list for highest intersection accident rates in Ohio.”
Bianchi said there were 56 accidents at the intersection during a five-year period between 2018 and 2022.
Of those, one was a fatal accident, two resulted in serious injuries, six involved minor injuries and nine others had possible injuries, according to Bianchi.
The remaining 38 resulted in property damage, but no injuries.
Bianchi said a traffic study was completed in 2023, showing 14,200 cars on Trimble Road each day and another 14,600 on Park Avenue West.
Wade told him safety grant funding may be available to make the intersection safer.
“I asked if we could could jump to the most extreme improvement, high-cost improvement, that we could possibly do, which would include a roundabout at this intersection with grade improvements and site distancing improvements,” Bianchi said.
“But that was going to be very expensive and that’s not how this program operates typically,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, City Council is scheduled to:
— vote on the annexation of 9.554 acres of land in the city into Washington Township.
— vote on a then-and-now certificate in the amount of $15,063.84 to MG Energy. The Mansfield Fire Department contracted in January for an emergency repair to a water heater at Station 4 prior to submitting a purchase order.
— discuss a final 2025 spending plan in the city, a required step under state law that must be done by the end of March. A vote on the budget is scheduled when council meets March 18.
— vote on a plan to revise community investment area requirements, designating housing officers to administer the program.
— vote on a proposal to accept $200,000 from the Richland County Foundation and $200,000 from the Milliron Foundation to be used in remodeling the former bathhouse at Liberty Park.
— discuss during caucus seeking bids for new traffic signals at Ohio 39/Mulberry Street, Brookwood Way/Fourth Street and Cline Avenue/Marion Avenue.
— discuss during caucus vacating a portion of Springmill Street between Mulberry Street and Oak Hill Place.
(Below is a PDF with the Mansfield City Council agenda for Tuesday evening.)
