Grant could help upgrade road safety signs in community

Perry Township is looking into the possibility of securing a Township Safety Sign Grant that is offered by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Township Administrator Karen Sundy said she received an email and followup letter from ODOT confirming that Perry Township is eligible to apply for the grant in 2019.

ODOT’s Township Safety Sign Grant Program provides up to $50,000 to townships to upgrade road safety signs in their communities. Funding can be sought for safety signs, posts and hardware, according to an ODOT fact sheet on the program.

Townships are awarded these grants for one of two reasons:

• They have a greater-than-average vehicle crash rating across the entire township, based on the community’s crash history over the past five years.

• They have not received funding previously through the program.

In the case of Perry Township, Sundy said she guesses, “It’s just because we’ve never been selected before.”

She discussed the grant program with township trustees at their Feb. 26 meeting.

Traditionally, the top 100 townships in Ohio meeting either or both grant program standards are given the opportunity to apply during a funding cycle. But this time around, the field has been expanded, ODOT’s fact sheet stated.

For this current application period, 200 townships have been invited to apply for the program due to a temporary increase in available safety funding, according to ODOT. In addition, Perry is the only Lake County township on ODOT’s eligibility list for 2019.

ODOT’s fact sheet also is accompanied by slides from a PowerPoint presentation showing “before” and “after” images of how several Ohio roads received new or upgraded safety signs through the grant program.

One such improvement featured “doubled up” advance warning signs ahead of a dangerous curve, which involved placing the signs on each side of a road in the same direction — to draw increased attention of motorists. Grant funding also has equipped sections of township roads with chevrons — a series of arrow signs to help guide drivers through a sharp curve.

Perry Township’s first step in the application process is for Sundy to attend a mandatory pre-grant meeting on March 29 in Ashland.

Sundy said the grant program provides funds only for safety signs along township roads, and not those under the jurisdiction of Lake County. If the township is awarded grant funding, all of the approved signs and related materials will be delivered to the township by an ODOT-approved vendor. However, the township would be responsible for installing the signs.

ODOT is accepting applications for the grant program through June 7.