Discussions continued Tuesday between Toledo City Council and the city’s Public Utilities Department about the Anthony Wayne Trail reconstruction, shedding some more light on what is expected for the project.
Concerns over tree removal have made their way to council members and to department deputy director Douglas Stephens, who described the city’s plan to replace the trees that are proposed for removal.
Mr. Stephens said that about 154 trees will be removed for the project and that a replanting effort will take place after construction is completed, either in the fall of 2023 or the spring of 2024.
In the long term, Mr. Stephens said, the trail could actually see more tree cover as smaller trees are planted to replace the larger existing ones to be removed.
“As we come down the road, we’re going to be able to put more tree canopy in and do a better job of planting trees than what exists there now,” he told City Council’s Streets, Public Services and Utilities Committee.
The proposal for southbound traffic includes 4-foot shoulders on each side of the road, which would ensure that one-or-two-lane traffic continues to run smoothly in the event of an accident or a breakdown.
The expansion would take the trail’s median down to 20 feet, but Mr. Stephens said that several trees in the median would have required removal, whether or not the median was shrunk.
Also proposed is a 15-foot tree lawn proposed to stand between the new bike trail and the main road.
“We felt that the safety for the bike path and keeping it separate from the roadway and making sure we have those breakdown lanes as 4-foot shoulders was necessary just to run a safe and efficient facility,” he said.
Mr. Stephens and Council President Matt Cherry agreed that some of the residents’ worries could have been quelled if all parties did a better initial job of communicating the details to the public.
“These are hard decisions that his council’s got to make,” Mr. Cherry said. “No one wants to cut down trees, but to know that we’re going to eventually get trees makes it a little bit easier, right?”
Councilman Nick Komives expressed excitement that the project could make the area more environmentally friendly thanks to less pavement being used and the need for runoff water being reduced and the creation of the bike path.
“I just think that all around, this has turned into what has become a really pro-environmental piece of creating some road because we’re also encouraging people to use other modes of transportation,” he said.
Also Tuesday, council members held an agenda review session for the Feb. 15 meeting. Members discussed a resolution to express support for the 1-mill, 10-year operating levy for the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Lucas County.
Other items expected to be addressed at that meeting include votes:
- On the addition of 14 LED lights along Central Avenue from Talmadge Road to Lincolnshire Road. Council hopes that the new lighting will improve conditions for pedestrian and street traffic.
- To authorize $885,000 from the Golf Improvement Fund to authorize course management from Davey Golf. Davey is in the final year of its contract to manage the city’s three municipal golf courses.
- On taking over $3.1 million from the Franklin Park/Westfield Tax Improvement Fund. The money would be spent to improve traffic signals in the area surrounding Franklin Park Mall. It would also collect traffic data to make signals more efficient.
First Published February 9, 2022, 1:17 a.m.
