July 21, 2023

During its June 6, 2023 Perrysburg City Council meeting, council members authorized the application for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds to improve the intersection of State Route 25 (West Boundary Street) and U.S. 20 (West Front Street) and to submit the application to TMACOG for consideration. The application for funds was based on a traffic study that was done in September 2022. The study can be found here.

The following is a look at the process of this study and why it was conducted. 

Why did the City do a study?
The City of Perrysburg had concerns about the ability to safely use the entrance to Orleans Park. The City hired a consulting firm to conduct a safety study that looked at the entrance to the park and the intersection of Front Street and West Boundary to see what options might be available to increase the safety of the motorists using the existing entrance. From 2017 to 2021, there were 96 crashes in the study area. The study looked at six different alternates to reduce the number of crashes. Alternates included: 

• Reconfiguring the lanes 
• Adding all-way stop signs at the park entrance
• Improving pavement friction at the Front Street and West Boundary intersection
• Installing a median on the corridor west of the Front Street and West Boundary intersection
• Adding a roundabout at the Front Street and West Boundary intersection
• Adding a roundabout at the park entrance 

Of all of the alternates evaluated, adding a roundabout at the Front Street and West Boundary intersection would have the greatest impact on the number of crashes in the corridor. 

What is CMAQ and what does it mean? 
The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program provides a flexible funding source for transportation projects and programs to help meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Funding is available to reduce congestion and improve air quality. Funding for the CMAQ grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHA). The FHA divides the grant dollars to the various Department of Transportations in all states (in Ohio, this means ODOT).  ODOT is responsible for making sure that all federal guidelines are followed on all projects using the federal grant dollars.   

Federal transportation law requires urbanized areas with a population concentration in excess of 50,000 persons to conduct an urban transportation planning process as a prerequisite for receiving federal funding for financing regional transportation improvements. The organizational structure for conducting this planning process is called a Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO). The MPO that serves the City of Perrysburg is called the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG).   

To apply for the CMAQ Grant, the City sends an application to TMACOG. TMACOG will score, rank and will determine which projects should be funded based upon the funds available. Once the final decision on funding is reached, TMACOG tells ODOT which projects will be funded, and the projects are then put into ODOT’s system.   

Since the project would include federal funding, it would be subject to many additional requirements including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Acquisition Policies Act, and other ODOT regulations and standards. Most locally funded projects are not subject to these requirements. 

Status of the project? 
At this point in time, there is no project. City Council has only been asked for permission to apply for a grant. City Council has not been asked for permission to move forward with the project if the City does not get the grant. To date, the only work that has been done is the safety study that recommended a roundabout. Due to the funding cycles, when a CMAQ grant is applied for, if a project is awarded the grant, the funds will not be available for construction until four to six years later.  

Design process 
If awarded the project, the City will select a design firm. Then, the Service Committee and then the full City Council will be asked to allow the City to enter into a contract with the design firm for the project.   

During the design process, not only will pedestrian crossings be looked at, but other environmental factors such as endangered species, wetland areas, etc. will also be reviewed. Also included in the design process is a public input period. This would involve a public meeting to display the design and receive feedback via comment form. The forms will be reviewed, and the layout of the design could be altered or changed based on comments or concerns received. 

Once a design is complete, the project will be bid on so that a contractor can be selected. Once the bid results are in, the Service Committee and then the full City Council will be asked to give permission to enter into a contract with the selected contractor. 

The City of Perrysburg is considering all options to make that area as safe as possible. If the City gets to the design phase, the public will be informed of any public forums via the City’s website, local media and social media. In the meantime, questions can be directed to the Department of Engineering at 419-872-7880 or engineering@ci.perrysburg.oh.us