Richland County motorists reminded to drive with caution during road construction season
April showers bring not only May flowers but also the orange barrels along local highways that mark the start of road construction season.
The Richland County commissioners on Thursday reminded motorists to slow down, pay attention and drive carefully through construction areas with a proclamation declaring April 15-19 as National Work Zone Awareness Week.
On hand for the proclamation were representatives of local laborers’ organizations including Jeff Sellers, business manager for Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 1216, which represents more than 400 construction union laborers in the North Central Ohio region. Sellers called the observance an opportunity to engage local elected officials to raise awareness in the community about the hazards associated with highway work zones, noting there have been 25,257 work zone related crashes in Ohio over the past five years.
“Our members get up and go to work every day on roadways around here and they want to come home safely at the end of each night, so that’s why we’re here,” Sellers said.
Figures from the Ohio Department of Public Safety show 301 of those crashes were on major routes in Richland County including 180 on U.S. 30 and 43 on Interstate 71. Sellers said 92 of the crashes occurred in 2021 and 75 in 2022 when major construction was being done on U.S. 30 with the figure dropping to 45 in 2023, noting that there were billboards on either side of 30 on both ends of the construction area reminding motorists to drive safely and watch out for the workers.
“We’re trending in the right direction, but obviously we have to be on top of this and continue our education to the public,” Sellers said. “I think that House Bill 288, which the governor signed into law last January, has helped in this effort. It makes it a primary offense now if you’re driving with a cell phone in your hand or texting so you can be cited for that.”
Commissioner Cliff Mears pointed out the state figures show a majority of the highway crashes in general happen between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., when drivers are coming home from work. Commissioner Tony Vero said it’s important for Richland County to raise awareness because it is a crossroads of transportation with U.S. 30 and I-71 and is just 6 hours from 60% of the U.S. population.
Sellers said that although the ban on cell phone use while driving has helped improve work zone safety, the state of Ohio could do more.
“I believe there are 18 states, plus or minus, across the country that have work zone cameras in them, and I believe Texas has the most stringent law in place, where it’s up to a $2,000 fine if you’re caught going 'x' amount of miles over the speed limit in a construction zone, so I think there’s a lot more that could be done, but public awareness is certainly a big part of that,” he said.
Sellers reminded the group that the orange construction barrels aren’t going away. There will be hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into states through the federal infrastructure bill.
“There’s going to be work in this area, this region, throughout the country for many, many years to come, so I think it’s important that we should be doing this every year,” he said.
Also attending Thursday’s meeting were Local 1216 President Hank Webb and local member Alan Garverick; Cordell Brooks, regional apprentice coordinator; and Bryan Keith, communications specialist with Ohio Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust.
April is Fair Housing Month
Commissioners passed a second resolution declaring April as Fair Housing Month in recognition of the passage of the federal fair housing law that was part of the 1968 Civil Rights Act. The resolution notes that the county backs education and programs that support safe and affordable housing including the Community Housing Impact and Preservation and Community Development Block Grant programs.
Richland County Regional Planning Executive Director Jotika Shetty said the federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, family status or disability by housing providers such as landlords, real estate companies, other entities, municipalities, zoning ordinances and lending practices. She said the CDBG program has allowed the county to set up a fair housing program that provides information and training and brochures on housing rights for housing providers, organizations and individuals.
Shetty told the board local officials have done a good job over the years of educating the public about fair housing rights and requirements.
“We maybe deal at the most with one or two what would be considered fair housing complaints that might be forwarded to the fair housing commission, which takes a closer look at it. But for the most part, I think complaints that are brought to the fair housing level are very far and between,” she said.
Shetty said anyone who feels they have been discriminated against in Richland County can call the City of Mansfield Community Development office at 419-755-9793. If it is determined to be a fair housing complaint, the office can help file a complaint with the Cleveland office of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Road construction season reminder to drive with caution in Ohio
