By Tom Gilchrist
For The Advertiser
FOSTORIA — Tuscola County Road Commission workers will install a crosswalk here on Foster Street — which is Fostoria Road — if Watertown Township’s Board of Trustees pays for the project.
Township leaders have asked the Road Commission to place a crosswalk on Foster Street to slow traffic and make motorists more aware of pedestrians, according to County Highway Engineer Michele L. Zawerucha.
Road Commission workers propose to apply paint to the pavement, install signs and create a ramp from the sidewalk leading onto the crosswalk. Gary Parsell, vice-chairman of the board overseeing the Road Commission, said at an April 24 meeting that he doesn’t oppose creation of the crosswalk as long as Watertown Township pays for it.
Bridget Palmatier, owner of Fostoria Grocery II along Foster Street, said she favors a crosswalk if it helps slow traffic in Fostoria, where the speed limit along Foster Street is 35 mph.
“I do think there is an issue that people don’t want to slow down,” Palmatier said. “I favor anything that can help and keep our children safe.”
As spring temperatures rise, “children tend to be out more and walking around” along Foster Street, said Palmatier, who said her store is a “focal point” in town.
The crosswalk could run from the southwest corner of Foster and Lincoln streets, across Foster Street to the Fostoria Post Office on the east side of the street, according to Zawerucha. The sidewalk in front of Fostoria Grocery II “is rather high … so it’s not a viable location (for a crosswalk) in my opinion; it would take a lot of work to make it accessible with a sidewalk ramp there,” Zawerucha said. Instead, workers might have to construct a smaller ramp from the southwest corner of the intersection leading to the crosswalk.
Road Commission officials plan to provide a detailed cost estimate for the crosswalk project to Watertown Township leaders.
In other action at the April 24 Road Board meeting, Zawerucha reported the Road Commission has received a $66,000 grant to pay for “nighttime illumination” of the intersection at Bray and Ormes roads in Tuscola Township.
The Road Board hired Frank Storm as Akron Division foreman, replacing David Davidson of Fairgrove Township, who is retiring after 30 years with the Road Commission. Seven applicants sought the position.