CONNEAUT —
A little city/school teamwork could relieve a serious traffic problem outside Conneaut’s two Gateway Avenue schools.
Parents waiting to pick up or drop off their students at Gateway Elementary School are clogging one lane of the street, forcing through traffic into the other lane — and into possible collisions, City Council members learned at a Thursday night meeting with Conneaut Board of Education members. The congestion also makes travel very difficult for school buses trying to negotiate Gateway Avenue near the elementary school and Conneaut Middle School across the street.
One possible solution is the creation of a new enter-only lane that would link the street with the elementary school’s west parking lot and pick-up area. The lane could accommodate more than dozen vehicles that normally would be put in harm’s way, said Superintendent Kent Houston.
“It would eliminate 90 percent of the cars on the road,” he said.
To help corral costs, the school district would like the city’s Public Works Department to excavate the entry lane using its heavy equipment. The district would absorb the balance of the cost, Houston said. The district is busy obtaining quotes, he said.
The lane would stretch approximately 150 feet, and stripes marked on the school’s west lawn show its possible path.
City officials were intrigued by the project. “We could get CT Consultants (the city’s engineering firm) to take a look,” said Councilman-at-large Neil LaRusch.
City Manager Tim Eggleston agreed, saying he will ask Public Works Director Bob Mannion to take a look at the lane. Officials will want to make sure the lane doesn’t interfere with any utilities that may be buried nearby.
“This is probably another good joint project,” Eggleston said.
Earlier this year, city crews helped the school district with a sanitary sewer hookup at the high school football stadium at Maple and Stadium avenues. The new line will service a concession stand/restrooms building that will be erected on the Stadium Avenue side of the field. The city’s cooperation was a financial boost to an organization, SPARC, that is raising funds to build a track and tennis complex — along with accessory buildings — adjacent to the football field.
Construction of the new building, financed primarily with grants from the Conneaut and Ashtabula foundations, is in a “holding pattern” until permits and final construction documents have been processed. School officials had hoped to have the building in place before the start of the 2012 football season.
“We are working on it as fast as we can,” Houston said.
The stadium has its own traffic problem that could be addressed with the city’s help, council was told. Football fans park their vehicles on either side of Stadium Avenue, a one-way street for decades, which creates visibility and safety concerns for vehicles trying to squeeze through to Maple Avenue.
“It’s a very tight fit,” Houston said.
The school district would like the city to make Stadium Avenue a two-way thoroughfare and ban on-street parking entirely. City leaders said they would consider the request, but had some questions.
“(The change) makes sense during football season, but does it make sense the rest of the year?” said Council President Thomas Udell.
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