Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — According to Mayor Richard Mavis, a new traffic signal should be in place at the intersection of Blackjack Road and Newark Road by mid-summer.

The plans, which include widening the roadway at the intersection, are under development. The mayor said the growing traffic count in the area, due in part to the growth of the nearby industrial park, shows that the intersection merits a traffic signal.

“We hope the signal will help create a more safe environment,” Mavis said. “Traffic signals are part of a plattooning strategy. The drivers on side streets between the signals get a chance to enter onto the main highway because the signal stops the main flow of traffic.”

The mayor said the need for the signal was brought out in a study conducted a few years ago along that entire southern area of Newark Road within the city, particularly where it intersects Pine Street, Parrot Street and Blackjack Road. The study helped provide the basis for the city’s decisions to install a light at the Newark Road-Parrot Street intersection and to remove the light at the Newark Road-Pine Street intersection, which had been put there for the now-closed Elmwood School.

He said he does not yet have a reliable cost estimate for the project, but added that it should go out to bid in April. Mavis said he hopes the light can be in place by early summer, or, at the latest, by the middle of summer. One issue that has to be dealt with is the installation of a turn lane off of Newark Road, for northbound traffic, and the impact this work could have on a stormwater detention pond located on the nearby First-Knox National Bank property.

The city is still dealing with widespread potholes on city streets. Mavis said the large number of potholes has been brought on by the ground’s frequent freezing and thawing this winter. He said the hot mix material, which provides a more permanent fix for potholes, is not available yet, so the street department continues to use cold mix patching material, which is useful in patching deep potholes but unsuitable for patching what he calls the many “washboard” areas of roadway where many shallow potholes have developed.

During the recent winter snowstorms, the mayor added, it was somtimes difficult for the street department, at night and with deep snow on the ground, to discern where the street ended and where some lawns and tree lawns began. Some lawns were inadvertently torn up by ploughs. The department is placing topsoil over areas damaged in this way, Mavis said; they will seed the areas when the time comes. Residents can contact the department at 393-9501 if their lawn was accidently damaged.

In other city news:

•Information about new daily and season rates at the city’s water park on Sychar Road can be accessed on the city’s Web site — mountvernonohio.org. Memberships can be purchased at the city auditor’s office on the first floor of City Hall. Those who buy a membership before May 10 will receive a discount. March 28 is the deadline for employment applications for the water park. Applications are still available in the mayor’s office in City Hall.

•The administration plans to have a drainage improvement project at the intersection of South Main Street and Vine Street under way around the first of May. It will require some trench work on the north side of the Woodward Opera House, on West Vine Street and over into the intersection.

•The administration continues to evaluate potential candidates for the position of city engineer. Two have been interviewed before members of Mount Vernon City Council. He said he is uncertain when the position will be filled and hesitates to name a specific date.