Fredericktown Village Council was recently awarded $70,000 in grant funding by the Knox County Foundation. The Knox County Foundation is a philanthropic organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for Knox County residents through charitable giving to various community entities. This grant will be used to assist in offsetting the cost of traffic signal improvements at the intersection of Sandusky Street and Main Street, and this improvement will be incorporated into Fredericktown’s Streetscape Project in 2023. The Village’s Streetscape Project is being made possible by funding through the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Transportation Alternative Program (TAP). During final plan review, ODOT indicated that, due to a lack of vehicular traffic counts, existing traffic lights are unwarranted. Therefore, TAP funding will not cover the costs associated with traffic signal improvements at the three relevant intersections on N. Main Street. The estimated cost for each traffic signal was approximately $183,500.
Therefore, Village Council saw little choice but to eliminate traffic signals on N. Main Street at Mill Street and at College Street, and traffic signals will remain only at the intersection of North Main Street and Sandusky Street. Due to safety concerns, four-way stops will be utilized at Main Street and College Street and Main Street and Mill Street.
Through the generosity of the Knox County Foundation, the Village of Fredericktown is in a financial position to replace the current overhead traffic lights with more efficient and decorative traffic signals, and these signals will be attached to mast arms. Village Council has worked closely with its Steering Committee and with an engineering firm and a landscape architect in ensuring that these LED traffic signals tie-in nicely with the other Streetscape related features, which include new streetlamps, trees, benches, stop signs, street signs, and trash receptacles. These improvements will ultimately enhance the quality of life in the Fredericktown Community by making it a safer and more aesthetically pleasing and desirable destination.
It is Village Council’s desire to see the 2023 Streetscape Project substantially transform Downtown Fredericktown. In addition to the aforementioned improvements, the project will also include: decorative streetlamps, burying overhead utility lines, and the addition of cast-iron tree grates with tree lighting. The sidewalk improvements will also include two feet of brick inlays next to the curb and will be widened on the east side of Main Street in order to allow for the possibility of future outdoor dining. The goal of the Streetscape Project is to create a safe and attractive downtown that will increase our residents’ sense of community, connectivity and pride, as well as enhancing our Village’s economic vitality.
The Streetscape Project is scheduled to go out to bid in November 2022, with construction anticipated to begin in April of 2023. Council hopes to see the project completed by September 2023.
