The Health Department is excited to announce that the Village of New Lexington’s application for funding to install sidewalks on Carroll Street will be submitted to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) in January of 2023. This application is to be celebrated as it represents many years of work on behalf of a group of dedicated, invested people who have been working since 2017 to improve the safety of the area and locate funding for sidewalk development.
Carroll Street (St Rt 345) runs north/south in front of the dollar stores, auto parts stores, Kroger, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Cooper Standard. Most residents of New Lexington are well familiar with the area and those who have attempted to walk in the area certainly understand the need for safety improvements as there are no sidewalks on either side of the roadway. The area is the main shopping district for New Lexington, provides access to New Lexington Schools and according to collected data generates the most trips for Perry County Transit.
The Perry County Health Department’s Creating Healthy Communities grant held a meeting in New Lexington in July of 2018 to discuss the need for pedestrian safety improvements, including sidewalk, on Carroll Street. The initial meeting was attended by 23 people including elected officials, business owners, and government workers. Work on the project has continued since that initial gathering.
In 2019, the health department worked with the Village of New Lexington to develop a Complete Street Policy which helps to ensure that future street projects are safe for all users including pedestrians and bicyclists. A resolution to adopt the policy was passed in January 2020.
Buckeye Hills Regional Planning Commission located grant funding to complete an ODOT Road Safety Audit in 2019.
In 2019, conversation began with ODOT District 5 regarding the need for improved safety including sidewalks, crosswalks, handicapped curb ramps and school entrance warning devices.
A county-wide Active Transportation Plan was approved and adopted by the Perry County Commissioners in December 2019.
A team formed to write a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) application for New Lexington Schools to provide sidewalk down Panther Drive. The SRTS application was funded in 2020 with the project slated to begin in 2024.
CHC painted crosswalks and initiated conversation with business owners to record opposition to the project in 2020.
The Village of New Lexington installed flashing speed limit signage to slow traffic at the village limits.
In 2021, the health department invested $37,000 for the completion of an ODOT required feasibility study before the submission of the HSIP Systemic Safety Grant application.
CHC invested $2,000 with Sixmo Inc. to aid in the writing of the HSIP Systemic Safety Grant.
The Village of New Lexington, staff from the Health Education Division of the Health Department, Perry County Mobility Management and Sam Tuten with Sunday Creek Horizons, began the final process to plan for the submission of the January 2023 application.
Those involved in this process cannot begin to express their gratitude for the support we have received from the New Lexington Village Council, the Board of Health, Sam Tuten with Sunday Creek Horizons, Sixmo Inc., Perry County Mobility Management, the New Lexington School District, Pike Township, and the Board of DD.
The Perry County Health Department is working to keep you healthy where you live, work and play. For more information about any program or service offered by the Perry County Health Department, contact us at 342-5179, visit us online at www.perrycountyhealth.info and follow us on Facebook!
Deborah Raney is director of health education at the Perry County Health Department and is a weekly contributor to the Perry County Tribune.
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