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Resident pushes city to relocate utility pole at Centennial and Little; staff outlines multiyear right-of-way plan
Summary
A Sylvania resident urged immediate relocation of a Frontier utility pole he says creates a traffic hazard at Centennial and Little roads. City staff said moving the pole will require right-of-way acquisition and a multi-year capital project, and council asked staff to notify Frontier and provide a written plan and schedule.
Paul Hamill, a Sylvania resident, asked the Sylvania City Council on June 2 to move a utility pole at the Centennial and Little Road intersection, saying the pole is repeatedly struck and presents a traffic safety risk.
The council’s Director of Public Service, Joe Shaw, told council members that the pole sits where the city lacks sufficient dedicated right-of-way, and that moving it would require acquiring additional right-of-way from private property owners. Shaw said the city inherited incomplete right-of-way dedication efforts dating to county attempts in the 1970s and 1980s and that any permanent fix will need multiple steps: right-of-way dedication work beginning in the city’s 2026 capital plan, right-of-way acquisition in 2027, and roadway improvements currently budgeted for 2029.
“Without taking right-of-way, you cannot move the pole and keep it in the right-of-way,” Shaw said. He described options for the intersection — a roundabout as a traffic-calming measure or a widened intersection with turn lanes — and estimated intersection widening costs “probably in the eights” (about $800,000) and a roundabout “maybe one, maybe a half million” to more than $1 million, depending on utilities and right-of-way needs. Shaw also said the project is functionally eligible for federal aid and the Ohio Public Works Commission, which could reduce local costs.
Hamill told the council the pole has been damaged repeatedly despite a warning sign and that vehicles turning at the intersection often swing wide to avoid the pole, creating near-misses. He said the pole also protects a city fire hydrant, which may need relocation if the pole is moved.
Council members and staff discussed interim options. Shaw said Frontier (a communications company) owns the pole and that Frontier might move it if the city provides a legal spot in the right-of-way. He suggested the city could ask Frontier whether temporary reconfiguration of the pole and wiring could reduce immediate risk while the larger right-of-way project proceeds. Several council members asked Shaw to send Frontier a formal letter outlining the city’s safety concern and to provide council an email or memo describing the project plan and schedule.
No formal council vote was taken. The council set the next steps as municipal outreach to Frontier and internal planning to define right-of-way limits in the 2026 capital work, with potential right-of-way acquisition in 2027 and construction following currently budgeted later in the capital program.
