A Dunbridge man has renewed his push for the closure of an alley he says is unsafe.
EJ Mansour unsuccessfully petitioned Wood County commissioners in 1999 asking them to vacate a portion of
an alley running between Oak Street and Dunbridge Road in the village. He spoke last week with
commissioners and Middleton Township Trustee Fred Vetter about submitting another petition.
Mansour, whose property aligns with a portion of the alley, said it has brought public safety concerns
for decades, and a plan to install signs or barriers was never completed after the 1999 petition.
Visibility can be difficult at certain times, and when combined with drivers traveling too fast in the
area, it creates unsafe conditions.
“Nothing was ever done in that alley, ever. No signs, no barricades,” he said.
“The best thing that can be done here is to close this alley.”
Mansour’s 1999 effort was not approved after township trustees did not support vacating the alley.
While safety is a concern, it’s not the only factor. Commissioner Jim Carter cautioned that while there’s
currently no public use of the alley — it doesn’t contain water or sewer lines, for example — that
doesn’t mean there won’t be future value in keeping it.
“Anytime that something has already been surveyed as a record of being available to the public, it’s
something we have to take very seriously when we say we no longer need the public (to access) that piece
of property,” Carter said.
Mansour requested a new survey of the alley, claiming the current survey is incorrect and some right of
way designations were inaccurate.
Vetter said the right of way is skewed, but further to the west, not in the north-south portion of the
S-shaped alley. He said the problem should be resolved this year with a project to correct drainage by
lowering the pavement by 16 inches.
“It’s going to be quite the project for an alley.”
In regard to vacation of the north-south portion requested by Mansour, Vetter agreed with Carter that
eventual uses cannot be predicted.
“I’m like you about closing it. I don’t know what the future brings.”
The group agreed to ask Wood County Engineer Ray Huber to do another survey as weather permits, after
which Mansour will likely submit a new petition for vacation of the alley.
“We just need to have all of the information that we can possibly have before anybody renders any kind of
a decision,” Mansour said.
Meanwhile, Huber suggested stop or yield signs be put up to address safety.
“Any place where any one of these public alleys outlets onto a public street should be protected at the
very minimum by a yield sign,” Huber said.
“The township needs to cover themselves from a liability situation, because if there’s no traffic control
device there on a public (road), you could be liable for accidents.”