TOLEDO, Ohio — The city of Toledo has held three public meetings to discuss what transit will look like through downtown for the next 20 years.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz sought public input on the plan. The idea being to take a comprehensive look at the transportation elements of downtown and assess how to enhance economic development and residential space. The plan will examine motor vehicle traffic, pedestrian traffic, public transit and biking.
The hope is to improve walking, parking and driving through town, with a plan to update signage and keep semi trucks on state routes and off city streets when possible.
"Summit Street is going to get a big beautification project. We're looking at a four-lane traffic pattern with center median, we're able to add some on-street parking and a lot of green space along there and do some traffic calming as well, it's going to be a really nice project," City of Toledo Department of Transportation engineer, Stephanie Bartlett said.
WHAT'S ALREADY DONE
With the TARTA headquarters move to Cherry Street, the old bus loop can now be decommissioned and freed up for more public use like bike lanes or parking.
TARTA's big move also required Huron Street to change from a one-way, to a two-way.
WHAT'S COMING UP
The city plans to reconfigure 11th and 14th streets to become bi-directional as well, in hopes of making getting around the city less confusing.
Another idea is to add a median strip to Summit Street where there are now open turning lanes, to both beautify the main road and increase safety.
"Our consultant will be putting together the final report and then submitting it to the city, we'll have to take it to council for approval, and then start implementing some of the changes," Bartlett said.
The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. (MSG) out of Maumee was given nearly $250,000 to conduct and present the study. According to the company's website, MSG offers an innovative and solution oriented approach to helping clients complete successful projects by employing creativity to solve problems, maximizing value and reaching cost effective client solutions.
If council approves the changes in 2020, the plan is to have the improvements done by the time the Solheim Cup comes to town in Spring 2021.
More information can be found on the city's website.