PORTAGE – State Rep. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green, has offered to facilitate a meeting between village
officials and the Ohio Department of Transportation in ongoing talks about removing the lone traffic
light there.
At Monday night’s council meeting Gardner said it wasn’t appropriate for him to endorse a specific plan.
But he did think additional time was needed to consider potential options and that the village should
not be under any sense of obligation to make a decision Monday.
Gardner said he had talked with ODOT representatives Monday afternoon "and they assured me there was
no necessary urgency."
ODOT, he said, could schedule a visit to the village or councilmembers could go to their office.
Councilwoman Marcia Wolford said both the infrastructure and public health and safety committees would
meet with ODOT.
At council’s May 18 meeting, an ODOT district planning engineer said the village should take the traffic
signal down and raise speed limits, based on traffic studies. The traffic signal, installed by the
village in 1929, does not meet any of the eight warrants in the Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic Control
Devices.