Greg Taillon, Jackson Township police chief, is concerned about the drivers who don't see the "do not enter" sign on Leonard Parkway.

NORTH JACKSON — Jackson Township has a wealth of businesses in Commerce Park, and this can create a lot of traffic for the community of 2,114 residents.

Traffic from Macy’s and Amazon distribution centers, three steel companies and five trucking companies — not to mention summer guests due to the town’s close proximity to Lake Milton and Berlin Lake — create a lot of work for five full-time and 12 part-time officers.

The police also deal with the turnpike and interstate exits and entries.

“The companies settled here because of the close access to the turnpike and interstate,” said police Chief Greg Taillon.

The township has a few dangerous intersections, such as the one on Leonard Parkway and Bailey Road, which is a divided highway. “Ever since the (Truck World) truck stop was built in 2017, we’ve had people driving on the wrong side of the road,” Taillon said.

The township has put up signage and street lights to make sure this doesn’t happen.

“We’ve been working diligently with the Mahoning County Engineer’s office about getting additional signage to minimize people traveling northbound in the southbound lane,” he said. “We may end up with a fatality if this doesn’t happen.”

Police issued 11 citations in 2017 for people driving on the wrong side of the road, 28 in 2018 and, so far, 21 in 2019.

Some things that may help prevent accidents in that area are three traffic enforcement grants the police department recently received. The department was qualified to apply for the grants because it met the threshold for the number of fatalities in the township. There have been six in the last year.

The traffic enforcement grants total $36,793.84 and will go into effect next summer,

“These grants give us the ability to be more visible, more present,” Taillon said.

The grants will be rolled out in phases, he explained. The first one is the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program for $13,915. It focuses on aggressive driving, speeding and distracted driving.

“Our presence alone will be a deterrent,” said the chief, noting the funding also reimburses the department for overtime.

An Impaired Driving Enforcement Program for $18,622 will put more patrols will be on the road from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. getting impaired drivers off the road.

A Drugged Driving Enforcement Program for $4,255 gets patrols on the road from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. looking for those driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“Five out of six OVI arrests are for people under the influence of drugs,” Taillon said.

Also under the grant is a zero-tolerance policy for not wearing seat belts and for not restraining a child correctly.

The grants also require the police to enforce mandatory blitzes on days such as prom, Thanksgiving, homecoming, Halloween and the Super Bowl.

“These grants are going to assist us in remaining very strict in our enforcement,” Taillon said. “We encourage every driver to do his or her part to make our roadways safer.”