Council reviews Safe Routes update, Whitmer Drive school parking agreement and Anthony Wayne bridge consent

Stephanie Bartlett, commissioner at Traffic Management, asked council for first reading on an updated Safe Routes to School travel plan for Toledo Public Schools; she said the district must update the plan every five years and that the city must adopt a resolution accepting the update for funding eligibility.

Christie Sondcrant, commissioner of Engineering and Construction Management, requested council approval to enter a cooperative agreement allowing Washington Local School District to contribute up to $1,750,000 to reconstruct and relocate a parking lot along Whitmer Drive so students would not have to cross the road. Sondcrant said the administration hopes construction will begin in April and be completed in early August to be ready for football season and requested "SCP" for the item; council approved first/SCP as requested.

Sondcrant also presented an item authorizing a cooperative agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation for the repair of the Anthony Wayne Trail bridge over Swan Creek inside city limits. She said the work will maintain one lane in each direction during construction, is expected to last three to four weeks starting in early summer and will not cost the city; council accepted the item for first reading.

Council members asked for maps for the Safe Routes plan and referred a request for additional route maps by referral. Members also asked about the Arlington Avenue sinkhole; Sondcrant said the administration is re-bidding the complex 45-foot-deep repair and planned a pre-bid meeting with contractors.