[ back ]
Complaints continue on Bainbridge Road plans
(by Sue Reid - October 08, 2009)
Complaints continue on Bainbridge Road plans
By SUE REID
Communication remains an issue regarding the Bainbridge Road reconstruction project, a resident told Solon City Council's public works committee last week.
"It's disconcerting to residents," Bainbridge Road resident John Nolan said. There's already enough irritation with the project, he said. Many residents along the road are finding out about stakes and white X's in their front yards when they arrive home and see them, he said. "This project continues to suffer from lack of information."
Public Works Director James S. Stanek reported at Monday's council meeting that the city has set up a 24-hour hot line with regard to the project. Residents can call (440) 337-1390 to receive whatever information is available or leave a message if they have a question, he said, and the call will be returned the next day.
The two-year road-reconstruction project is slated to begin in spring 2010.
"It would be good if residents had the heads-up of what's coming down the pike," Mr. Nolan said.
Councilman and committee member John T. Scott said that while he is not trying to make excuses, this is a project of the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, not the city.
"It's very difficult to pre-warn people," Mr. Scott said, "but we can do the best we can."
Jamal Husani, chief transportation engineer for the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, said his office does as much as possible to inform the city and the residents.
"We have gone above and beyond the normal process for our other projects, because we are aware that the residents are very anxious about this project and also all the controversy about the project with the trees," Mr. Husani said. "We are sensitive to informing the people."
But his office can only disseminate the information as fast as it is received from the people in the field, he said. With the marking of trees, he said as an example, the county's utility coordinator went out and met with the utility companies to mark the trees that would be in direct conflict with utility coordination. As soon as that was done, the coordinator returned to Mr. Husani's office with the list of addresses that will be impacted.
Mr. Husani said his office was ready then to send letters to the residents about the trees that will be removed. "That same day, the city had their public works meeting. This happened in the morning, and people saw the marking. There are steps that have to be done first."
Mr. Husani said he sent an e-mail to the city the day after that telling them the addresses that are impacted. A flier also will be sent when the removal happens, which is anticipated to be before the end of the month, Mr. Husani said. With that process, he said, the utility coordinator must first obtain bids from three contractors, which will take a couple of weeks. Once the bid is awarded, he said, the contractor then will indicate when the job will begin.
"As soon as I'm aware of the date the contractor will be out there, I will try to give the residents a heads-up," Mr. Husani said.
"Even though it's a county project, it has a wide ranging impact on the city," Mr. Nolan said.
Mr. Stanek said the city will work with the county on better communication, but residents must understand that the city has no control over this project.
"We'll do the best we can, but it's a bit of a struggle from time to time because we don't have the control," Mr. Stanek said.
City Engineer John J. Busch also said some of the specific dates related to the project have not been identified.
"As we get further into it, the county will definitely have firm dates," Mr. Busch said. "Once they have them, they will share those with us and then we will share them with the residents."
Mr. Scott said that in the years he has served on council, he knows that "residents of Solon can put up with a lot.
"They're resilient," Mr. Scott said. "They just like to know what's going on or the flavor of what's happening."
Councilman and committee member Robert N. Pelunis said that if the city can post as much information as possible on its Web site, that would be helpful to residents. "We don't have to get into extreme detail," he said.
"We're scrambling on a daily basis to put fires out as they occur," Mr. Stanek said. "We'll do our best, but it's tough sometimes."
"All along, we've been telling the people what needs to happen so they are aware of the project," Mr. Husani said. "They are aware of the limits of it. They are aware of what trees will be removed. Nothing is being done without informing the people."
[ back ]
