Mansfield City Council receives update on crackdown on cruising on Miracle Mile

Speed bumps made a difference.

At Tuesday's Mansfield City Council meeting, Safety-Service Director Keith Porch provided an update on the summer project designed to reduce speeding and drag racing on the so-called Miracle Mile , the stretch of Park Avenue West between Trimble and Home roads.

Porch provided a chart showing a sharp reduction in crashes, calls for service and incidents from June 21 to Aug. 22.

Temporary speed bumps were put in place from Friday evenings until Sunday mornings. Porch said they were scheduled to be in place until Sept. 7, but city officials reduced that by a week.

There were 13 crashes between June 21 and Aug. 22 on the Miracle Mile, none of them serious, Porch said. In recent years, the Mile had seen two fatalities involving motorcyclists.

Responding to a question from Councilman David Falquette, Porch said the speed bumps did not cause any rear-end crashes.

Incidents on Miracle Mile decrease dramatically

In the same time span, there were 125 calls for service and 35 incidents. Calls for service are minor and don't generate a police report.

Incidents do require a police report. With only 35 recorded during that two-month span, the Miracle Mile has produced 143 incidents so far this year.

Total incidents for the previous three years were 602 in 2021, 594 in 2022 and 625 in 2023.

Porch said what surprised him the most was the number of car stops (two) and the total citations (eight) that happened this summer.

"Officers were out working Park Avenue," Porch said. "Just because speed bumps were placed out on Park Avenue doesn't mean enforcement efforts were abandoned. That's not true."

Councilwoman Stephanie Zader said she travels the road frequently and has seen a police presence.

"I want to thank them for being proactive," she said.

Porch said the combination of speed bumps and the cruising ordinance combined to make the endeavor a success.

In May, council voted to prohibit cruising in the designated area. Cruising was prohibited from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday into Saturday and Saturday into Sunday.

Cruising was defined as driving a motor vehicle past a traffic-control point more than two times in any 2-hour period.

A number of people were exempt from violations, which could go up to a third-degree misdemeanor. Porch said no cruising citations were issued this summer.

Still, he acknowledged that many people were not fans of taking away an activity that goes back to at least the 1950s.

"That was not the fun part of it," Porch said of such complaints.

He added he was conscious of the budget when deploying speed bumps.

"We had to call in crews to get these up and take them down," Porch said. "Every time we call crews in, it's 4½ hours of call-in pay."

Zader approved of the project.

"I know they weren't popular," she said of speed bumps, "but they seemed to work."

Council delays participation in class-action settlement

In another matter, council voted to delay a vote to participate in a proposed class-action settlement with Tyco Fire Products and BASF Corp. regarding the use of aqueous film-forming foams and leading to possible contamination at Lahm Regional Airport.

The issue is related primarily to "forever chemicals" in foam used by the Air National Guard's firefighters. According to the initial complaint filed in January 2023, the products were "defective in design and unreasonably dangerous" because they "render drinking water unfit for consumption, pose significant threats to public health and create real and potential damage to the environment."

Zader complained about the bill coming in after the deadline for legislation to be submitted. She said she didn't think it was appropriate to pass the bill after only one reading.

Falquette asked if there was a timeline for the city to respond. Law Director Rollie Harper said he would check.

Councilwoman Cheryl Meier also asked about a timeline and if the settlement amount had been disclosed. Harper said it had not.

"Is that something we should know before we pass this?" council President Phil Scott asked.

Council eventually decided to delay the vote until the next meeting Sept. 17 and agreed to schedule a special meeting if needed to meet any deadlines.

In reports from administrators, Harper provided updates on a couple of ongoing headaches for the city, including the demolition of the former Mansfield YMCA on Park Avenue West.

The demolition took place in 2018 and 2019 in an agreement the city had with Page Excavating in Lucas. Mayor Jodie Perry previously said the work was not done correctly.

"When (another company) started digging it up, they discovered much more. There was a notion that parts of the pool were still there," she previously told council.

Harper said Page Excavating was served on July 24. The company has retained counsel, he added, but said he is hopeful for a settlement.

The city is looking to recoup some of its money after initially paying $500,000.

Officials still are waiting on demolition of the West Park Shopping Center. Harper said the company has hired a new attorney, which has "slowed the process considerably."

Trimble Road bridge to close next week

Perry said North Lake Park has reopened with the completion of a bridge. She said the Trimble Road bridge is closing Sept. 11 for a week. Motorists still can get on and off U.S. 30 via Home Road.

Perry also reminded council that decisions regarding remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds must be made "very, very quickly." Money must be allocated by the end of the year.

Perry said the city has about $2 million remaining, a portion of which she wants to go to improve parks. She still wants to implement some of the funding for the North End since the community center for the North End Community Improvement Collaborative will not meet the ARPA deadline of having the project completed by the end of 2026.

In other business, council

• appointed Ruth Barretta to the police review commission;
• accepted a state grant for $31,465 for extrication equipment for the city fire department;
• accepted a $7,500 donation from the Richland Veteran Mentor Program Inc. to promote and benefit the Mansfield Municipal Court Veterans specialty docket;
• accepted a $385 donation from Councilwoman Deborah Mount, as well as $35 donations from Donald Nunley and Herscine Adkison, to purchase Neighborhood Watch signs;
• appropriated $12,078 to purchase new equipment for Clearfork Reservoir; and
• authorized entering into a contract for the disposal of water sludge from the water treatment plant.

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

X: @MarkCau32059251

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield City Council receives update on crackdown on cruising on Miracle Mile