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Resident watchdog watches over Bainbridge Road project
(by Sue Reid - March 11, 2010)
Resident watchdog watches over Bainbridge Road project
By SUE REID
It was back in 1993 that Solon resident John Nolan first heard of the Bainbridge Road reconstruction project, he said. An 18-year resident of Bainbridge Road, Mr. Nolan has watched closely the project's progression over time.
So much so, that he, and a group of about a dozen residents, have dedicated themselves to not only attending every meeting for the past six months where the project has been discussed, but to ensure the city openly communicates each facet of it to those involved.
Now with a start date just days away, tentatively set for March 15, that dedication will not waiver, Mr. Nolan said.
"Before we were trying to mold which way this project was going, now we want to ensure how it's going," Mr. Nolan said. "I want to let the city know we're watching this, we care about it and we want to be informed about it."
Mr. Nolan said there had been people over the months who have thrown up their arms and said of the project, 'It will be what it will be.' That is not what we're doing." He said the core group of active people who have watched and discussed this project exchange information and their views several times a week.
"We'll watch this project closely and we won't stop," Mr. Nolan said. "We just don't want this being done in some kind of haphazard way. There are plenty more issues that need to be watched."
Those issues involve the two-way temporary road, which has been the point of contention for residents from the beginning. Mr. Nolan said it was a little over a year ago that John and Mel McNamara "rang the bell, so to speak" on this issue.
"They noticed that there is this unnecessary road and unnecessary destruction," Mr. Nolan said. They asked other residents if they were aware of this.
"There are a lot of ways to maintain two-way traffic without building a road," Mr. Nolan said. He said that in 2005 there was talk of building a single lane on the north side of the road within the right of way.
Despite residents' opposition to the road, the city subsequently decided on a two-way temporary road for maintenance of traffic. The decision was based on input and recommendation of safety forces.
If that decision made last summer had been different, Mr. Nolan said, residents would have felt they won a battle in terms of their efforts all along.
"I would have considered that a solid win if the two-way road went away," Mr. Nolan said. "But it's better to have gone into battle and maybe come out bruised, than never to have gone into it at all." He said residents could have walked away at the point that the two-way road was selected with their tail between their legs, but they did not.
"We've tried our best to improve this project," Mr. Nolan said. "I think at the end of the day, any losses that we have are a little easier to take knowing we've tried."
Mr. Nolan said although this is a project of the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, residents will continue to want to be in the loop as far as the project's progression is concerned.
"I don't believe the city is helpless," Mr. Nolan said of the ability to keep residents informed. "The city has a duty to protect its residents. I know they didn't design this project, but that does not negate one iota their responsibility to protect its residents and make sure this project is the best it can be."
"Even with the two-way road, there are still questions about safety and property damage," Mr. Nolan said. "There are still issues that are fairly sizable. Things can go wrong and we're here to minimize those."
Resident input, in general with all city projects, is invited and encouraged, city Engineer John J. Busch said.
"They live there day in and day out," Mr. Busch said of residents on the affected roads. "They know all of the nuances particular to certain situations. The more input, the better.
"I take their involvement as a positive because I think their comments and their input help us do our projects and do our jobs," Mr. Busch said.
"We are going to continue to challenge things that are wrong," Mr. Nolan said. "I have asked for time tables and schedules. We're not going to want to drive in our driveway and see X's on trees or come home and they have already been cut down.
"We expect information, and we expect to have our views heard."
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