Water Quality, Streets & Infrastructure Committee - Regular Meeting

Yeah. That makes

Okay.

I call to order the Transportation Committee meeting for Toledo City Council for Wednesday, 04/22/2026. Clerk, please call the roll. Driscoll? Here. Hobbs? Gaddis? Here. Comives? Here. Martinez?

Present.

Sorantu? Here. Williams? Five present. Thank you, clerk. The order of operations today, we're gonna go through a presentation about the Safe Routes to School program. This is serving a little bit as a public meeting, a second public meeting after some of the concerns about the Harrow Road project. But we're gonna go through all of the Safe Routes to School that we're doing this year, and the genesis and the reason that we do those programs. And then we'll do public comment at the end of that. We're gonna try to stick to three minutes. So if you haven't yet signed up, there's a sign up sheet on the podium. If you haven't yet signed up to speak, please do that. And we'll get started. So we'll turn things over to our folks from our transportation department.

Oh, sorry. Thank you council members. My name is Stephanie Bartlett. I am the commissioner of traffic management.

Christie Son, current commissioner, engineering and construction management.

And we're here to talk about safe routes to school, school travel plan, and the projects that we do.

Page down?

While we're figuring this out, we're go right Councilman Martinez.

Thank you, mister chair. I was just gonna say while we're figuring this out, I do wanna thank you for hosting this meeting. I sincerely appreciate your willingness to do this. I think there was some unanswered questions from the Harrow Road community meeting, and I wanna make sure residents had the opportunity to ask very specific questions around the construction side. Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet at the library as originally intended, but I do appreciate the administration willingness to send representatives here to discuss the SafeSport to School program, as well as the specific the specifics of the construction program. So I think the residents are making their way out. I know it's a little inconvenient time right after work but I do appreciate your willingness to come out. Thank you Mr. Chair.

No problem happy to do it. Thank you Chairman or Councilman Martinez. Yeah please go ahead.

Alright. Safe Rise to School program is funded by FHWA and administered by ODOT. Toledo Public and Washington Local each have their own school travel plan, allowing the city to apply for funds for one district each year. This presentation will concentrate on the Toledo Public Safe Routes program and highlight projects that will be constructed in 2026. The TPS travel plan was completed for 40 k eight schools in late twenty fourteen and has been updated every five years to include additional projects and programming for the district.

The most recent update included the addition of eight public high schools in Toledo. Each update includes collecting new data in the form of parent surveys, principal surveys, and for the high schools directly surveying students. This is primarily information on who is walking and biking to school and how parents feel about having their children walking and biking to school and any concerns they have.

This data allows the city to address specific items with our projects like lack of safe crossings, disconnected sidewalk networks or lack of sidewalks,

and traffic concerns regarding speeding behaviors. It also highlights other concerns parents have when allowing their children to walk or bike, like blight, dogs who scare kids, and issues around bullying. These plans allow us to strategically plan and make informed decisions about where the city is spending limited resources on all upcoming construction projects as these elements are built into and funded in all of the city's infrastructure programs. The Safe Routes to School program is about more than more than infrastructure. The program relies on a large group of volunteers to provide critical education and resources for kids to encourage safe habits when they're out walking and biking in Toledo.

Helping schools implement walking school buses, walk and roll Wednesdays, student crossing guard training, free bike helmets, and free bike fix it programs. Also providing education on how to safely walk and bike, cross the street using signals and beacons, and rules on safe biking habits. Habit habits that will hopefully continue into adulthood. The twenty twenty six Safe Routes to School program includes five locations across the TPS district. Bakewell is a priority corridor for Birmingham Elementary, and many students cross Kinsal at this location.

Pedestrian counts were taken in December 2022 showing 46 people crossing at this unmarked, unsignalized location. Adding a crosswalk where students are actually crossing the street significantly reduces the risk of injury or fatality. Glendale is a priority corridor for Harvard Elementary. This project will provide bump outs to shorten the crossing distance, and the existing pedestrian signal will stay in place and parking is not impacted along Glendale. This will provide better access not only for the school, but also to residents visiting businesses along this corridor.

Detroit Avenue is a priority corridor for Beverly Elementary. This is a new crossing that improves access to Schneider Park and for students attending Bauser High School. Currently, there are no pedestrian accommodations to cross Detroit at this intersection. The closest signalized safe crossing is more than 1,200 feet away at Glendale, and Glansman is about 3,000 feet away. North Ravine is a priority corridor for elementary and Waite High School.

Commissioner Bartlett, could you pull the mic a little closer?

Oh, I'm sorry.

You're fine. Thanks.

North Ravine is a priority corridor for Garfield Elementary and Waite High School. This gap in the sidewalk network will connect to the stadium and Ravine Park, creating a continuous safe route to the park and playground that does not cross any driveways and only a single intersection. Harrow is the final sidewalk connection needed to complete the sidewalk network between Rogers and McTyde Campus all the way to north all the way north to Bancroft Street. Sidewalks along Olympia were installed in our last safe routes project along with minor connections along Friar And Heidelberg. This creates a safe pedestrian connection to the signalized intersection at Dorr Street, allowing students to travel between all area schools.

The two mile buffer around high schools where students are not bused extends all the way north towards Elmer Drive. Many high school students are walking to school when it's dark or staying after school for sports or other school events and providing safe corridors for all students as necessary through the neighborhoods. This project completes a long term goal of connecting these neighborhoods that began with our first Safe Routes application in 2015. While Safe Routes is a program to fund projects around schools, the benefits are for the entire community. And that completes our presentation.

Thank you very much Commissioner Bartlett, Commissioner Sonnekran for being here today. Thank you for your presentation. Curiosity, the funding source for this program is from ODOT, is that correct?

Yes. The funds are administered through ODOT and there is no local match. They recently increased the amount that we are allowed to apply for up to a million dollars. So each school district is eligible for projects up to a million dollars every other year. So we have it on a cycle where we do TPS one year, The next year we do Washington local and then we flip back and forth. And we have been successful in every application that we've applied for. TPS has we've completed 133 of our recommendations from their plan within the last ten years.

As

a new parent I can tell you this, the state of our sidewalks in this community probably not where we all would like for them to be. We don't, we carry Charlie as we walk through the neighborhoods because the the sidewalks are pretty rough in the neighborhood, so we can't use the stroller. Like you said, upgrades to the sidewalk aren't just for kids walking to and from school. They they work for everybody. And I personally feel like when I see families with kids walking around neighborhoods, those communities feel a little more alive.

And we should want to promote folks moving into this community, raising families here. So this is one of those little things that we do that can make a difference, and we just gotta make sure that we're doing it with good community context and that we're communicating with our residents as we go through that. So thank you very much for your presentation. We have questions from members of council, and then we'll go to the public based on who signed up. Council member Gaddis.

Thanks, chair, and thank you for your presentation. I wanted to kinda dig deep into some of some of the meat of this, especially as a district rep. You said I think it's awesome we did a 133 of the recommended. How many total are there recommended?

I don't have a total number. When we do our school travel plan updates, we're continuously adding new projects. We'll go out and do new walk audits at different schools. Obviously with TPS, 40 schools doing updates every five years is difficult. We kind of pick and choose which ones we need to do walk audits so that we hit them all over the course of the program. There are recommendations for all schools. Some are more robust than others, but we're constantly adding new projects.

Yeah, I remember the high school just last year, two years ago, was a great idea. How, when you pick the areas you pick, do you look at the neighborhood plans that we pass through ordinance?

We do, yes. I am also a member of TDC who does a lot of the neighborhood plans. So I am very familiar with the ones that are currently out there.

Have we completed any of those neighborhood plans goals with sidewalks?

I don't know if I would say we completed them, but we do take them into account. When we do our walk audits, we look at where students are going to, how they're currently traveling to and from school, but that does obviously change as students grow older and move to the high schools and different elementaries and newer kids come into the school system.

Are we able to utilize NRSA funding to amplify the I know we don't need a local match, but to amplify what we're already doing. I know we can use NRSA funding for trash cans and benches down Broadway. Can we use them for other things that would fit safety?

I do not know. I'm not as familiar with the NRSA program. That would probably be something we would need to discuss with neighborhoods.

Okay, I would love to, you know however we can amplify some of the other funding we have to get this done as quickly I think that would be great. Is it for only the can you explain a little more of what it covers? Does it ever cover flashing school signs? Like what does it cover?

It covers new infrastructure. So we can't go out and do like sidewalk replacement program. It does not cover ped ramps, like if we're only doing a ped ramp, but if we're putting in new sidewalk that has ped ramps included, then that will do that will be covered. The school 20 flashing signs, it covers those. You know, enhanced crossings, so if we want to put in a rapid flashing beacon, things like that.

I mean, it covers more than infrastructure. It also covers programming and stuff that we do within the schools. So you know it's a very robust program. There's a lot of information on the ODOT website around Safe Routes. So I could, you know, can direct you to their website and maybe give you a little more context on what different types of things they cover.

Okay. That would be great. I'd love to get a complete list. And then when, I know you had mentioned like it's hard to get around with a stroller. I'm in a wheelchair. It's it's a it makes life really complicated to get to my neighbors to give them the need they want or the needs that they help them meet their needs. So when we like, you're laying all new sidewalk on the on North Ravine where there's none. That's amazing. I've been an Eastside resident for long time and we've never had them there we usually just walked in the grass. But do we ever assess the full length?

So as we you know we have the whole route, do we go up to those neighbors and say your sidewalk is in bad shape, we're trying to fix this whole path to get the kids to school safely? Have we ever took that into consideration?

The program,

and maybe that's more pulling what we do with traffic when we look at sidewalks as a whole, our neighborhood plan as a whole, like does anybody ever assess all of those and say we're fixing this strip or we chose this, we chose Garfield, we chose Birmingham and Kinsall. Okay? Because that's that's got more sidewalks than this. So we know they go this path. This is the way they walk which is in the plans. So we're going to assess all those other sidewalks on this whole strip and talk to those neighbors about the programming we have so we can fix the whole dang thing. Like, do we do that as a city?

No. But that is an interesting idea. The program doesn't cover sidewalk replacement, but yeah I think I get what you mean. As we know that this project is coming to improve this, let's continue this by improving the direct path from this new crossing directly to the school. We have not looked at doing our sidewalk program that way. I mean I'm sure it's something that we can consider in the future.

I would love to help however I can. Okay. To help do that because I think we can make some really big advancements. This is so needed and we've got so many kids and you know, if we could get a whole pathway safe for people, I think that would really help encourage them to utilize it more. Thank you, thank you for all my questions. I'm a big fan of this program. I just wanna make this shine in our city because I think we have the potential to do that. Thank you, chair.

Thank you, council member Gaddis. And I'd also like to recognize vice chair Hobbs as in attendance as well. Councilman Sarantu.

Thank you, mister chair. To both of you commissioners, I wanna thank you for all the good work you've done. In particular, the in front of the Toledo Technology Academy, the old DeVilbos High School, my wonderful alma mater. I know many don't think I made it through high school, but I did. I'll bring my diploma in next month.

But, really, you did a fabulous job with that because there were real concerns with with the kids crossing the street and speeding drivers. And I just really appreciate the changes. How how many I guess my question is, how many schools are left that that don't have these types of programs for safety, would you estimate, in Toledo?

So the TPS plan covers all of the TPS schools.

Okay.

And Washington Local does cover all of the Washington local schools. So the only I guess the only schools that don't have a Safe Routes program would be any, like, charter schools or the parochial schools.

Okay. But I noticed, like, Chrysler, King, and Monroe Street, there's there's pretty good signage there and there's a speed zone, a flashing sign and so forth.

Yeah. Schools any school that has been in the same location for five years is eligible for the school zone 20 flashers.

Okay.

So that's that is a typical thing that that traffic management would do for any school. Okay. They would just need to the school would contact our office.

Well, think it's great that all the TPS and Washington local have been taken care of. So thank you. And I also noticed the differences now in Alexis Road in front of Whitmer and the junior high complex there. So looking forward to that, seeing more improvements. Thank you. Thank you, mister chair.

Thank you Councilman Serrantu, Councilman Martinez.

Thank you Mr. Chair. So ladies thank you so much for your presentation. I know the YMCA rep was not here, correct? She had a family emergency, she couldn't make it, Correct.

So I guess my question, and I think part of the frustration, at least from what I've and kind of seen, is this is a great program. I think one of the parts we're missing is community engagement and conversation with neighbors that are impacted. So one of the reasons why we're here is I think while this is great and definitely needed and is well received in the majority of the spots, but making sure that we continue communication with residents. And that's part of my frustration. So can you tell me how or if community was engaged when we were identifying these sites?

Because I have three sites which I was pleasantly surprised. Two of them I knew about, the other one I thought it might be there but I wasn't sure if it gonna get done this year. So I'm glad to see that it was. And then I also have another school to be considered also right there. Well, it's private school, but it's OLPH, but I see kids crossing the Anthony Wayne Trail to get either to OLPH or Total Christian.

And then they have a daycare not too far from there on the trail. So that was a question that came from one of the principals when they found out about this program, were able to apply to figure out I know the Anthony Ring Trail is a pretty busy area and I'm not sure what we could do, if we could do anything. But just to put it in your opinion. But again, going back to my original question about do you know how community was engaged at all on this programming?

So the engagement around the school travel plans focuses on the schools themselves and the needs that they see, not necessarily with the actual residents who live along the routes. I do feel that that is something that we should be better at.

Okay, great. Thank you. And then before we open it up to public discourse, could we see the construction plan for Harrow Road please, an update?

Yeah I think we just gotta go back one slide.

So I will go ahead and add a few things to that since the last time that we met with the residents. We have bid the project out. We have a contractor, Crestline Paving and Excavating is going to be doing the work. They plan on starting with Harrow as the first thing and then going to the other locations. Right now they have a mid June start line with construction complete August 30 and that is not just HARO, that is for the whole project.

We have not had a pre construction meeting with them yet because they literally just got the project a little while ago. So when we do we'll have a pre construction meeting and then they send us a schedule for construction so we can make sure that we get that to you and you get to the residents or ever you want it to work that we can get that schedule out to them. And our comms does a great job of putting things on the website, giving timelines, sending emails on Fridays and want everyone to sign up for our program and our website. Just go on City of Toledo, you can sign up for links and get all construction information throughout the whole year on any project. So we want to make sure that residents do take advantage of that.

Okay. And then one of the question, geez, sorry. Catch basins. Like what are we doing for the overall to help with the drainage concerns?

So one of the another issue that came at our meeting was making sure that there were plenty of basins to sow water wooden pond. Went back to the engineers. They did feel that they had designed it well and put enough in, but we did decide at the, I guess it would be the north end, to add a few more catch basins on the west side which is where all the catch basins are. And then make sure to drain water to the pipe on that side just because the north side was a little less in catch basins compared to the South Side. So after talking with them at that meeting afterwards, like I said, we went back to the engineers and they did add some more catch basins to the project.

Do you know how many more?

It ended up being two. We thought we were gonna add three but when they went back and looked they couldn't find another spot, another low spot to put a third one so they ended up adding two.

So how many catch basins total? Sorry. I didn't mean to catch you off guard here.

That's okay. I brought the plans. So I just have to count. You if you have another question in the meantime, I'll

It it is, but it's related to that Because the last rain event we had, there was significant pooling just because of the we have the low areas on how far a lot of the homes sit back, and I saw hoses draining your basements and stuff like that. So one of my questions is since we're in there, is there an opportunity to add, in the storm, taps that if the homeowner wanted to tap into the storm to help with the drainage in their setback at their cost, that they would just have to tap in, but then the tap's already there. Is that possible? So that was a very specific question, so I'm sorry.

That's okay. So first off, there's 25 total. So there were 23 before we went and added the two more. I will, I can look into that to see if that would be an option for them. And then, so you're saying that like if they have they want to because a lot of the ponding is like on the sides of the homes or like right in front of their homes. So outside of the right of way you are wondering if we can have them put in a basin on their property and then drain that to the city line. Is that what?

Sort of. If the tap's already there at the homeowner's expense, if they wanted to add a basin in their their lot.

And then run the line.

Correct. And the tap's already there, so that'll save them money in the process if they so chose. Is that an option?

Let me look into it.

Okay. You.

See, I'm not 100% on

process Understood. With Alright. Thank you. Thank you, mister chair.

Thank you. So we're gonna move to comments from the public. I'm gonna do my best to pronounce your names correctly. When you get up here, state your name and address. And so we'll start with Rosanna from Lake Erie West Regional Council.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Rosanna Helsley, Lake Erie West Regional Council. I'm the chief of staff over there. If you want my address, 2807 Barrington District 5, Old Orchard. So personally, I love that you are as a counselor talking about it. I think it's fantastic. But I'm here on behalf of our executive director Sandy Spang and our director of transportation Dave Gideon who both could not make it this evening. My colleague Amira is gonna give you a little bit more details. But on behalf of our director Spang and our director Gideon, we just want to say that at Lake West, we fully support the strategic transportation tool as Safe Routes of School plan, the program.

Safety enhancements are a big part of what we do at Lake Erie West. We are at the ready if there's anything that we can help with in terms of providing data and providing analysis, anything like that, that's kind of what we do. We are the designated metropolitan planning organization for this region. So we're happy to help. And I defer to my colleague, Amira.

Hi, everyone. My name is Amira Noor, and I'm a transportation planner at Lake Erie West Regional Council. That is 300 Doctor. MLK Jr. Drive, Suite 300.

Lake Erie West is the designated metropolitan planning organization and the federally recognized body responsible for coordinating transportation planning and Lucas Would in the southernmost townships in Monroe County, Michigan. Lake Erie West has been involved in safe routes to school travel planning for many years, supporting school districts across the region and anyone choosing active transportation. This effort aligns with our priority to improve safety accessibility and active transportation across the region. Based on 2019 TPS data around 24% of students walk or bike to school in the morning and 28% in the afternoon. That means a quarter of students are using active transportation on a daily basis.

Right now, in areas without sidewalks, students have no choice but to walk on the roadway or in people's yards. Sidewalks are a preventative improvement. They provide a dedicated space to walk and are meant to lower risk before accidents happen. Safe routes to school efforts include other safety improvements such as crosswalks, ADA accessible ramps, other design features that improve visibility in pedestrians and lower the chance of serious accidents. The program promotes education of drivers and pedestrians as an important key of safety on and off the road.

Walking and biking supports physical and mental health of students and builds stronger and more connected neighborhoods. Lake Erie West is committed to assisting school districts throughout the region in developing and implementing safe routes to school. The goal is to plan for safe and reliable travel routes to help students get to and from school, which is also a great benefit to nearby residents and the broader community.

Thank you.

Thank you. We'll move on to Brian.

I brought show and tell. I'm Brian. I live on Harrow. Not super happy about getting a sidewalk down the street because the rest of the neighborhood is probably not gonna get one in the very near future. Oh, I got I got multiple things.

So, I've got since we had that rain April, one of the concerns is walking on sidewalks that are have water sitting on them. When we walk in the street, because we have a tree walker coonhound, we have to walk her two, three miles a day, otherwise she gets antsy. At least in the street, we can avoid puddles. When you're in the when they cross the whole sidewalk, we have to walk either in the wet grass or through the puddle or in the wintertime, it's slippery and icy. And that's along Dorr Street.

They could have saved money moving the kids from Olympia to Heidelberg and put all the way down, but instead they put a sidewalk on Friar, which I have pictures where it's flooded. The crosswalks at Harrow have water sitting on them. There are pools of water sitting between the sidewalk and the street. If they did drainage, they didn't do it very well. So I have pictures of that.

And then I also have pictures on the East Side of and the West Side Of Harrow where water was pooled up and down the street. I didn't have addresses for them, but they are there from the north to the South. And as far as the repavement goes, I saw there was something about like a two inch asphalt on top. I'm not sure if they're going to grind the street or what they're going to do because everybody's driveway is either at grade or slightly above grade. And if it's just putting it on top, everybody's driveway is going to be two inches below the street.

Also, I don't know if the plans all along Cairo are gonna be have the humps in it, but on Olympia, there are sections where water is pooling on the sidewalk and in people's driveways because the sidewalk goes down. So that's my choose. I don't know if anybody wants to see them, but I'll give these to the either the engineers or counsel if you wanna

They can. Yeah. We'll have somebody collect those. We'll circulate those amongst members of the committee. Okay. Terrific. Thank you very much. Council member Gaddis.

Thank you for your testimony. Can I ask you a quick question? I'm sorry. Are the sidewalks sinking? Have they been there a while?

The ones along Dorr Street?

Yeah. The ones you said are flooded.

As long as I've lived there, I've lived in the same house for since '99.

Okay.

And the whole Adams Township, when it was annexed, that whole area does not have sidewalks. So our neighborhood the only sidewalk in the neighborhood would be R Road and then Friar and then Dorr Street and Nebraska on each end. There's nothing on Eaton, nothing on Heidelberg, nothing on Vanderbilt, nothing on and oh, no. Nothing on that other side of Fryer or Sloan. And then you've got everything west of, Hollandsylvania. All those kids have to walk across Hollandsylvania. There's no flashing lights, no marked crosswalks there either.

Okay.

And then you have the streets that are right next to Rogers and McTighe. They don't have sidewalks. Pretty much every neighborhood around us has no sidewalks except where they have curbs gutters and they were had to put them in.

Okay. Thank you for the clarity.

We're not anti our neighborhood is not anti sidewalk, but putting a sidewalk through where there's no other sidewalks makes the neighborhood look terrible.

Yeah. I I hear you. I think that's it's definitely part of a bigger conversation of connecting everything.

And there's also a sidewalk along Nebraska where there's not an ADA drop. There's still a drop down to the street. And there are other ones where they've been corrected and have slopes.

Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you, chair.

Thank you for your comment. Vice Chair Hobbs brings up a great point about just the amount of unimproved roads we have in this community and that's really probably a lot of the cause of a lot of the pooling because we just don't have proper drainage. I mean, we're working to address that issue. It takes time, and those are more expensive road projects, obviously. So we're doing what we can. But over time, we've got to make sure we're moving in that direction. Councilman Martinez.

Thank you, mister chair. So to answer the gentleman's question, Brian's question, so I guess the question is, are they doing approaches? Or or aprons? Like, how will this

So when they do, yes. So for an overlay we will, when they, it is an overlay, he's correct, we are not milling anything off of it. So they'll put a thin overlay on it but they will match it up to the drive. So if it needs to narrow, you know, get a little thinner to get down there to get to the drive, they will match it up to the drive so it doesn't go over the drive. Because we don't want the road to drain. And like, I mean, like he's saying, he doesn't want the all the road to drain into his driveway apron and then there's a puddle on his driveway apron that he has to deal with or ice up and is dangerous for him. Gotcha.

So are we replacing the aprons or we're just using the existing aprons and just tying

them So to we are replacing the aprons on the west side of the road because that is where of course the pipe is going. And so we're gonna replace the whole approach to the back of the walk.

Okay, thank

you. Because we're putting a new walk in. So we're replacing their approach before that. Thank you.

I'm gonna say as far as repaving goes, Eaton was done either a year ago or a year and a half, two years ago. There are still gaps where the pavement is six to eight inches above people's yards. And then there's also places where the pavement is like two inches or an inch above their driveway. So I don't know what was supposed to happen there either. And it was like a surprise project. Nobody in the neighborhood knew that they were getting an overlay. It was like a test or something. I have no idea.

Let's move on to Kelly and Ken.

Hello and thank you. I actually thought I was just signing us both in. So that's why I put us on the same line. I apologize. Thank you for your time this evening and, at least hearing us out.

I live on Harrow, and I'm not a fan of having the sidewalk. Part of the appeal of our road, our neighborhood is little country in the city. We've got, most of us have double lots, at least half acre or acre lots. And adding the sidewalk when we have so much flooding and we have nowhere to put the water. On the East Side, there is nothing on the East Side for us to do anything, and that's where I happen to live is on the East Side.

And the communication for this was just nonexistent. When the trees, the workers for the to cut came to cut the trees down, that's when we found out. And obviously, that's not the way to find out. Communication is a huge issue between the city and the voters. And I struggle when you say unimproved roads because there is no such thing anymore because in November '24, we all voted, and there is no such thing as a unimproved road anymore.

So I would appreciate it if you guys look at it as a regular road. But there needs to be much more transparency, much more communication. And when Brian was talking about the fryer sidewalk, that was just done last year as a part of this program, and they've had to lift it twice. And it's still pools where they're supposed to cross from Friar to Harrow. They they can't use the sidewalk to cross in that crosswalk that they drew, that they painted on the road.

This is just it's this isn't right. This isn't right. And she's commissioner said herself, there's been no communication. You guys just decide this between the school and what is needed. You guys wanna connect the community, but maybe the community doesn't wanna be connected. We have you guys wanna connect us all the way down to Toledo Botanical Garden. Nobody wants to go all the way down there. Nobody wants to walk or ride their bike all the way down there from where we are. I I to me, that seems absurd. You know, if if people want to do that, that's fine, but it's gonna be a very small number.

And I can tell you there are two kids that walk down that street to go to school. Two. There are two others that will ride a bike when it's nice out, but they can't ride the bike on the sidewalk. That's illegal. So why are we spending taxpayer dollars to put a sidewalk in when nobody's walking?

Nobody wants to send their kids to school with the crime rates the way they are. You know, we escort them. I had something else to say and I don't remember. But this this, I hope you guys do much better with communication in reaching out to just have this kind of construction done. And another thing is this is what I wanted to cover.

In December, in our meeting in December, we were supposed to get the nine a copy of the 1975 special tax assessment that was imposed on the Harrow residence. We were supposed to get a copy of the updated plans, and we were supposed to get a copy of the survey results from the Safe Walk to School program, and we have yet to see that. But to do something like this and waste taxpayer dollars to put a sidewalk in, which is fine, put the sidewalk in but put the drainage with it, put do it right. Otherwise, you're just putting a band aid on something that needs far more than that. Is my time up?

We had a short list, I was letting you go. But yes, it is. I'm sorry.

Okay. Well, thank you for listening. Thank I appreciate it.

Thanks for coming in today. I don't know if we have your email address, but if those documents we we you requested, we'll we'll do our best to get them to you if we have your contact information.

Okay. Thank you. Yep. No problem. I would like to compliment Christy Sankran and Councilman Martinez for all of their work

There's no time for that. We're all you're all out.

My name's Ken. Live on Harrow also. I went to the meeting at the library, asked to have the information specifically for how many kids were counted for this program. I have not gotten it yet. I did. I'm retired. There's two kids in the morning and two there's four kids in the morning, four at night going to school and coming back. So if you're going to spend this kind of money and it's based on 20 kids, does anybody have that report here? Has anybody seen it? What were you told as far as how many kids are walking down the street?

Does anybody have it? Okay, that's the same answer we got in December. You guys are basing your decision on something that could be false information. Woe is me if that's the case. And for you too.

It's a shame what you guys have come out and done to our neighborhood cutting down those trees. Beautiful trees. And you had a much better option and a much cheaper option one road over. So if you could address getting a tap on my side of the road since the west side of the road is going to get all the basins and the east side is not, I'm going to have the same issue with flooding and probably worse after they get done based on what they did on fryer. I would hope maybe some of you would drive out there and take a look.

See what you spent your money on. I can do a lot better job than them. But if you could check-in to find out if I can get a tap on our lot, if I can get a tap there, I'll get the water there, and I'll pay for it. And I appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Megan Robson. Hi, Megan Robson, chief of operations for the city of Toledo. Today I am here to represent Washington local schools. They were not able to be here today, so they prepared a letter that I would like to read for the record. Dear members of Toledo City Council, I am writing to express my strong support for the Safe Routes to School program and the meaningful impact it has had on our students, families, and the broader Meadowvale community.

This program has played a vital role in improving student safety and accessibility. One of the most significant improvements has been the addition of the sidewalk along Hearst Road, a previously high traffic and hazardous route for students traveling to Meadowvale Elementary as well as Whitmer High School and the junior high buildings. This enhancement alone has made a lasting difference in ensuring safer daily commutes for our children. Beyond infrastructure, Safe Routes to Schools has consistently supported our students through hands on initiatives. Their bike fix it days have provided students with the opportunity to have their bikes repaired and made road ready at no cost to families.

Additionally, the distribution of helmets has helped promote safe riding habits and protect our students. During our annual walk and bike to school events, the program has also provided dedicated volunteers to assist with crosswalk safety for both our walking and biking groups. These efforts not only ensure student safety, but also encourage healthy habits, independence, and community engagement. Safe Routes to School is truly an asset to our community. Their commitment to student safety, accessibility, and wellness is evident in every initiative they support. I strongly encourage continued support and investment in this program so it can maintain and expand its positive impact. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Colleen Aiken.

Thank you. Is there any other comment from the public pertaining to this committee? Sure. Sure. Well actually we need to record it, so

I'm sorry. You're fine. I did forget to say that, when this project was initially slated, the sidewalk was slated to be on the East Side, and then they switched it to the West Side because that's where the sewers are. So why, when you plan a project like this, why did they not know that until far into it? It just seems poorly planned. I'm not against the program. I think it's probably a great program for the right roads. This is not the right road. It needs better planning. Thank you.

No problem, thank you very much. With no further business, meeting is adjourned.