West Side News & Notes
3/18/2010 - West Side Leader
Work beginning on Sand Run Parkway
WEST AKRON — The city of Akron will begin lining a concrete sewer pipe along Sand Run Parkway between Revere and Sand Run roads by the end of the month, resulting in occasional road closures.
Rather than digging up the concrete pipe through the Sand Run Metro Park, Akron Construction Manager Jim Weber said workers will line it with fiberglass.
“We’ve had some problems with it in the past, because the hydrogen sulfide gas that’s released in the sewer has been eating away the concrete,” Weber said.
Some work has begun to redirect the flow from the pipe to a plastic pipe aboveground.
“We know that’s a very busy park,” Weber said. “Our plan is to not have the [jogging] trail closed.”
While there will be signage to alert drivers to closure of Sand Run Parkway, Weber said, “If you’re going to the park, it’s probably best that you come in from Portage Path.”
When Sand Run Parkway is closed, traffic should detour to Smith Road.
The intersection of Sand Run Parkway and Portage Path is expected to remain open, he said. Sand Run Road also will remain open.
The $1.5 million project, estimated to last three months, is being paid for by federal stimulus funding.
Norton fire station roof collapses
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| Part of Norton Fire Station No. 1’s roof collapsed March 11. The building was not occupied at the time, and no one was injured. |
| Photo courtesy of the city of Norton |
According to Norton Fire Chief Mike Schultz, he and two other firefighters were standing in the station’s west bay Feb. 24 when they heard a loud cracking noise and noticed a large crack in the drywall.
Subsequent inspection revealed broken tresses, at which time Schultz was advised by a structural engineer to move all people and equipment out of the building because the roof was in danger of collapsing.
Within 10 hours, the operation was moved to a rental building on Norton Avenue, the chief said.
“At no time did this interrupt our protecting the citizens of our community,” Schultz stressed. “It was seamless.”
On March 11, the roof on the west side of the building did collapse. A north-facing wall also looked ready to collapse March 12, Schultz said.
Nobody was hurt.
“The building has been deemed a complete safety hazard,” Schultz said, adding it will be demolished.
He said the original part of the building was built in 1950, and the part with the collapse was built in 1980.
“There’s some type of structural flaw, is what we believe,” he said. “It’s not a lack of maintenance issue.”
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new fire station is expected to take place within the next two weeks, Schultz said. The new station should be completed in November. In the interim, the department will continue to operate out of station No. 2 at 4110 Johnson Road and the rental building, which is about a mile away from station No. 1, at 831 Norton Ave.
The department’s business phone number has been changed to 330-745-8127.
Fourth annual Operation Coverload set for March 26
AKRON — As part of Operation Coverload, citizens can call 3-1-1 from a landline or 330-375-2311 from their cell phone to report illegal littering or hauling to the Akron Police Department.
Citizens will need to report the license number, description of the vehicle, driver and illegal activity, as well as the location and time of the incident.
There are city and state statutes that prohibit litter from being thrown, dropped, discarded or deposited from a motor vehicle. In addition, people hauling more than 10 scrap tires must be registered to assure proper tire recycling and disposal, thus preventing illegal dumping.
Keep Akron Beautiful (KAB) has partnered with District 4 of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the State Highway Patrol and the Akron Police Department Traffic Division for the fourth annual Operation Coverload. The campaign is designed to educate the traveling public about their responsibility in preventing litter by covering their loads and keeping trash inside their car until they can dispose of it properly.
On March 26, officers will be enforcing this law by pulling offenders off of Akron’s expressways and issuing court summonses.
In addition, the 29th annual Clean Up Akron Week is April 17-24, and the 35 affiliates of Keep Ohio Beautiful Inc. and the 12 districts of ODOT have joined forces to sponsor cleanups on expressway systems statewide following the winter thaw.
Some hospitals end visitation restrictions
GREATER AKRON — The Akron Regional Hospital Association (ARHA) is notifying the public that some hospitals are ending visitation restrictions to those 17 and younger. The restrictions were established to provide additional protection to patients during the 2009-10 flu season.
The hospitals include Akron Children’s, Akron General Edwin Shaw, Akron General Medical Center, Lodi Community, Medina, Regency, Robinson Memorial, Select Specialty, Summa Akron City, Summa Barberton, Summa St. Thomas, Summa Wadsworth-Rittman and Summa Western Reserve Hospital.
The ARHA reminds the public to never at any time visit patients if visitors are ill or experiencing fever, chills, headache, vomiting, cough, sore throat, muscle aches or diarrhea.
Summa planning $65 million emergency services network expansion
GREATER AKRON — Summa Health System announced March 10 a $65 million plan to grow its comprehensive emergency services network by building two new full-service emergency departments and expanding three existing emergency departments.
The emergency departments at Summa’s Akron City, Barberton and Wadsworth-Rittman hospitals will be expanded to allow for increased capacity and improved patient experience, according to Summa officials.
Akron City Hospital’s emergency department currently consists of 43 beds and approximately 19,000 square feet and was designed to treat approximately 52,000 patients. Treating more than 78,000 patients in 2009, the expansion will bring the number of beds to 75 and increase the area to 84,000 square feet. The renovated facility will include enhanced radiological testing capabilities with two digital radiography units, ultrasound and a 64-slice CT scan unit dedicated to the emergency department. It also will provide enhanced patient experience with private rooms large enough to accommodate families. Construction is set to begin in April.
Plans are being developed to expand and renovate emergency departments at Barberton and Wadsworth-Rittman hospitals.
In addition, plans for free-standing, 24-hour, seven-day-a-week emergency departments are being developed for the Summa Health Center at Lake Medina campus, which is currently under construction, and at the Summa Health Center in Green. Both are expected to open in 2011, according to Summa officials.
— By Maria Lindsay
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