Kent city leaders and concerned residents are set to meet next month to review proposed improvements for the section of North Mantua Street from Needham Avenue to just beyond the northern city limits.
The public forum is set for 5-7 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Theodore Roosevelt High School cafeteria. The format will be an open house, with a formal presentation at 5:45 pm. Attendees will view the proposed improvements, ask questions and provide feedback.
The stretch of road is less than a mile, but carries some 17,000-18,000 vehicles on a daily basis. Residents have expressed concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety, speeding and vehicular ingress and egress for more than two decades.
During a May 2023 public meeting at the high school, City Engineer Jim Bowling said the solution to speeding traffic and motorists ignoring traffic signals was to make doing so “uncomfortable.” By that, he said he meant narrowing lanes, reducing lanes, designing boulevards instead of multi-lane roads and installing roundabouts.
After the meeting, volunteers stepped up to join a citizens advisory committee, and the city hired a consultant who worked with the committee and city officials. Also involved in the planning process were representatives from Davey Tree and Kent City Schools.
Together, they developed a plan they believe improves traffic flow and safety for all users, provides connections for a future bike trail, creates an aesthetic gateway and improves ingress/egress to drives and to River Bend Boulevard.
Planned improvements include the reconstruction of .45 miles of North Mantua Street, adding a single-lane roundabout at the relocated Davey Tree driveways/North Mantua Street intersection, adding a right-turn lane exiting River Bend Boulevard and upgrading a traffic signal at the Roosevelt Drive intersection.
The project also includes resurfacing pavement and installing a new median boulevard, curbing, driveways, sidewalk, shared-use path, drainage, streetscaping, lighting, signage and pavement markings.
Ending the North Mantua Street paving project at the high school was intentional, Bowling said during a May 2023 public forum. The city is more likely to get grants for the project if the roadway is in poor shape.
Kent’s engineering department estimates the project cost at $5 million and anticipates hefty government help. The Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study is kicking in $2 million from federal Carbon Reduction Program funds and the Ohio Department of Transportation is providing another $224,000 from its municipal paving program. Those funds, Bowling said, are “directly related to pavement condition.”
Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2026 and take about a year to complete.
Anyone with comments or questions about the projection can contact Bowling at 330-678-8106 or email [email protected]. Comments and questions will be accepted until March 14, 2025.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.