Defunct Traffic Signal in Oil City to be Removed

| May 26, 2017

Traffic Light Oil City
OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) – A traffic light that has been out of service for over six months will be removed in Oil City.

(Photo: The defunct traffic signal at Relief Street and Route 8 will be removed after the Oil City Council voted to take it down at Thursday’s meeting)

The Oil City council voted to remove the traffic signal at Relief Street and Route 8 (where National Fuel and the VFW among others are located).

“PennDOT won’t allow us to keep it up with the old, antiquated equipment in inactive status,” City manager Mark Schroyer told the council.

According to Schroyer, putting a new traffic signal in the location would cost the city approximately $150,000, money the city currently doesn’t have. A grant was looked into in the fall, but one isn’t available.

Schroyer also said his initial belief was if the signal was removed it would hurt the city’s position if it wanted to put a new signal in the location, but he said PennDOT has told him removing the signal won’t help or hurt the city in that regard.

“I don’t feel we need the signal,” Councilman Ron Gustafson said. “But at the same time, I don’t want to foul up potential development that could go in that area who might need the signal. But we could work with the developer to get into that if we need to.”

Councilman Michael Poff asked if a traffic signal being removed from another part of the city – see below – could be used at the Relief and Route 8 intersection but he was told that while the idea was an interesting one that probably wouldn’t work.

“If it has to come down, it has to come down,” Poff said.

Councilman Dale Massie said taking it down now was good for the eye appeal of the city.

“It’s an eyesore,” Massie said of the traffic signal, which is currently covered in black plastic. “It doesn’t look good.

Oil City mayor, Bill Moon, said that if any business would come into the area a new traffic study would have to be done.

A current traffic study conducted in the area after the reopening of the Center Street Bridge in late October 2016 showed that there were no traffic incidents at the Relief and Route 8 intersection over a 90-day period.

The current setup of Relief and Route 8 with free-flowing traffic on Route 8 and a stop sign on Relief will be how the intersection will remain once the signal is taken down.

Schroyer also informed the council that PennDOT is considering removing the traffic signal at Duncomb Street and Seneca Street near where the parking garage was formerly located. This would be in addition to the removal of the traffic signal at Duncomb and Elm that PennDOT had originally discussed removing.

“They are proposing adding a new signal up the street by Billy’s for the new transportation hub,” Schroyer said.

McDONALD’S GETS IT EASEMENT

After tabling an easement agreement for the proposed McDonald’s renovation at the council meeting two weeks ago, council authorized the easement at Thursday’s gathering.

Schroyer said city solicitor Robert Varsek and the lawyers from McDonald’s had been able to reach an agreement on the language for the easement.

In the agreement, Oil City will grant an easement over under and across city property (City Lot No. 14B) for the purpose of connecting a lateral sanitary sewer line into the City’s existing interceptor sanitary sewer line.

According to Schroyer, with this issue solved work on the McDonald’s could start just after Labor Day.

ROAD RESURFACING PROJECT BIDS AUTHORIZED

Authorization to advertise for bids to resurface and repair a number of city streets was approved.

While the final list of resurfacing projects will be determined at a meeting next week, it is believed that several streets will be resurfaced this year including Maple, Edgewood, Traction and Greenfield Court as well as possibly Oak Grove near the high school.

“We are also talking about patching some streets that aren’t bad in all areas but are bad in some,” Schroyer said. “That would include Colbert Avenue, Wilson and Seneca and a section on Glenville Avenue from Zemke Lane up.”

CITY TO SPEND $6,000 UP FRONT TO HELP WITH PEG CHANNEL MOVE

The council approved spending $6,000 up front to help with the moving of a Comcast line from the City Building to the new proposed site of the STREAM, which was awarded a contract earlier this year to run the city’s Public, Education and Government access (PEG) television channel.

The STREAM is in the process of procuring a lease on Seneca Street for a storefront location and is investing around $70,000 in the setup of the channel according to Schroyer.

“They asked if we could possibly pay the $6,000 fee to move the line,” Schroyer said. “They will pay us back in some way once they are set up and running.”

A representative from STREAM said the moving of the cable could take up to 60 days but that the channel would be operational in the meantime. Programming will also be streamed online for anyone who doesn’t have cable television.

OIL CITY TO COMPLY WITH DEP ON COPPER LIMITS IN WATER

Schroyer said the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been asking the city to implement new requirements on measuring the copper limits in the city’s water and wastewater.

“We originally believed that wasn’t going to occur until next year,” Schroyer said. “But, because we are below the limits, we are in a good position to agree to do that now.”

Schroyer said it will cost the city a little extra money to measure the copper limits more frequently, but the sum should be below $1,000.

“I think doing it now will buy us some good will with the DEP,” Schroyer said.

UPDATES GIVEN ON WATER PROJECTS

Updates were given on ongoing water projects, and it’s believed the Central main line project should be completed within the next two weeks. Also, a project will begin on Glenville Avenue where 900 feet of new 12-inch main line will be laid in preparation to connect to the new booster station.

Speaking of booster stations, permits on both the Fourth and Central and Zemke booster stations are in the process of being obtained.

In addition, the project on Wabash Avenue between Glenview Avenue and Colbert Avenue could be completed this year with anything that goes uncompleted being finished next spring.

PROCLAMATIONS READ FOR NATIONAL POLICE WEEK AND NATIONAL PUBLIC WORKS WEEK

Proclamations were read at the meeting for National Police Week, which was May 15-21, and National Public Works Week, which started May 21 and runs through May 27. Certificated were presented to the police chief and the heads of the public works divisions by Moon.

Moon and Public Works

Moon and Chief

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business the council:

  • Authorized the Child Development Summer Food Program at the Harriott Avenue Playground from June 7 to Aug. 25. The Child Development Center will provide a hot lunch every day from noon to 2 p.m. to any child that wants one.
  • Passed a resolution granting the Oil City YMCA permission to display a banner across US 62 North on Oil City’s East First Street between Central Avenue and State Street from June 1 through June 17 announcing the YMCA’s triathlon at Two Mile Run County Park June 17.

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