YOUNGSTOWN — City council will consider legislation Wednesday to permit the board of control to sign a contract to obtain property needed for a project to remove 10 traffic signals, primarily along Market Street and Indianola Avenue, and replace seven others at intersections on those two corridors.

One ordinance would authorize the board of control to enter into a professional service agreement for right-of-way property acquisitions and appraisal review for the project. The contract wouldn’t exceed $150,000 with the city paying 20%, up to $30,000, and the rest coming from federal funds provided through the state.

The other ordinance would allow the board to negotiate and acquire various parcels of land for the project and enter into any necessary agreements for temporary access. That expense wouldn’t exceed $175,000 with the city again responsible for 20%, up to $35,000.

The city needs about 20 small parcels for the work to be done at the 17 intersections, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of public works.

The company hired by the board of control “would negotiate with the property owners for the parcels,” Shasho said.

The project is expected to begin in the summer of 2027. It could take up to a year to complete, Shasho said.

The project will improve vehicular and pedestrian safety, enhance pedestrian accessibility, allow better traffic flow and remove unneeded traffic signals, Shasho said.

The federal grant through the state is covering 80% of the project’s costs, he said.

The project is estimated to cost $2,958,750 with $1,942,537 for the construction phase. The rest of the cost is for engineering, construction administration and inspection, and for the purchase of right-of-ways and utility relocations.

The locations where the traffic signals will be removed will instead have stop signs and improved pedestrian ramps, Shasho said.

The Market Street intersections are at Auburndale, Hylda, West Warren, Delason and Myrtle avenues. The Indianola intersections are at Hillman Street, Oak Hill Avenue, Rush Boulevard and Gibson Street. Also, the project includes the removal of traffic signals at the intersection of Glenwood and Parkview avenues, which is near Glenwood’s intersection with Indianola.

As part of this project, traffic signals will be replaced at seven other locations. That work includes new pedestrian signals, handicapped ramps, new pedestrian ramps and vehicle detection units. The vehicle detection units can tell if vehicles are at one side of the intersection and none at the other to turn the light green for those waiting, Shasho said.

The Market Street intersections are at Midlothian and Southern boulevards as well as Indianola, Dewey, Williamson and Woodland avenues. The other replacement work will be at the intersection of Indianola and South avenues.

There are objections raised at the Market Street intersections with Auburndale, Delason and Myrtle avenues.

The most vocal concerns come from Academy for Urban Scholars’ administrators and students, which is located at 3405 Market St. at the corner of Auburndale Avenue. They say it is already dangerous to cross the five-lane street and will become worse if the traffic light is removed.

The concern at the Delason intersection is the result of the planned Valley Legends Sports Complex at the site of the former South High Fieldhouse that’s been demolished and an objection to removing the light at the Myrtle intersection was raised by V&V Appliance Parts, Shasho said.

Shasho said there are different options, such as enhanced pedestrian signals that can stop vehicular traffic, to alleviate concerns at the intersections, particularly Auburndale.

“We’ll meet with the mayor and the few stakeholders who are really concerned and have an in-depth conversation,” Shasho said.

But, Shasho said, two traffic studies were done, and there isn’t any real justification to warrant keeping any of the 10 traffic signals slated for removal.

“Keeping the signals would be the least responsible thing to do,” he said. “The numbers don’t add up to justify keeping those signals. We want to come up with a solution and there are other means to address pedestrians crossing the street. On Fifth Avenue, we have hot signals for pedestrians. The worst-case scenario is we don’t remove them and lose the money for an intersection.”

PUMP STATION PROJECT

Council on Wednesday also will consider an ordinance to permit the board of control to advertise for bids and enter into a contract for 42-inch waterlines and other work to connect the planned upgrade to the Webb Road pump station and the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District waterline feed.

The engineer’s estimate for the work is $6,472,000, but Harry L. Johnson III, the city’s water commissioner, said those estimates are typically high and the cost won’t be known until bids are opened and one is awarded in the spring.

“This is a pretty involved process to make this happen,” Johnson said.

The city will borrow the money for the project from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Supply Revolving Loan Account.

The city usually pays low-interest loans through that state account back over a 20-year period, but no decision will be made until a contract is awarded, Johnson said.

The waterline work must be coordinated with the addition of another pump station at Webb Road, which is needed because the existing one has to undergo repairs. That station distributes water to most of Austintown and Canfield townships through four pumps, Johnson said. The additional station would add two more pumps.

Both parts of the project will be done by the end of the year, Johnson said.

The new station is being built off-site for $2,914,839 by EFI-Solutions Inc. of Centralia, Illinois.

The city is using water funds to pay for the construction of the new station, Johnson said.

“We have to time everything so the pipes are in when the station will be delivered because there’s a large monthly storage fee for the station,” Johnson said.