Traffic mess at one polling place

By Mark Sweetwood (Contact)

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Published November 4, 2008

Voters are encountering obstacles outside of one polling place in Youngstown.

At St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church on the city's West Side, a road construction project in the area has kept traffic tied in knots for much of the day. At one point, 30 cars were in line waiting for temporary traffic lights to allow traffic to move along Belle Vista Avenue. One such light had this sign: "Three minute wait."

Precinct committeewoman Geri DeLuca called the day's travails "the worst i've seen in 35 years and i've been a part of every election."

At times, impatient drivers disregarded red traffic lights.

"There's going to be an accident ... there just has to be," she said.

A road project on nearby Chaney Circle was the source of the temporary lights and police were dispatched to the street to see if any additional traffic management was necessary.