By Edward P. Noga
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Living in the Midwest, we are accustomed to the dark months of winter. We look forward to our favorite weather forecaster announcing each evening that we have a few more minutes before the sun sets. This sets the stage for a little more daylight and inches us toward the coming season of spring. Oh, happy days!
During March, I have had some friends and readers of this journal contact me about the darkness. To be clear, they are not talking about the weather and sky and seasonal changes but about why all 30 streetlights that run the length of the Market Street Bridge leading into downtown Youngstown are out.
Yes, the entire bridge is out. I wish that I could include some of their voicemails. It has been more than two months that this darkness has been part of the driving into and out of our downtown Youngstown. Yes, there has been news that a state grant has been awarded for a makeover of the bridge – including lighting. To my knowledge, however, no requests for proposals have been solicited.
Knowing what we know about government protocols and grants, we can easily assume that it will be months – or longer – until work begins and is completed. We also know that such timelines are interrupted, understandably, by weather, emergencies and other unforeseen circumstances.
Might we go another year without any lighting on THE major bridge into the city? There is no temporary solution to keep us out of the dark in the meantime?
In December, The Business Journal published my commentary that included dark pictures of some of the entranceways into downtown Youngstown. These include lower Belmont Avenue by the main fire station, the Marshall Street and Spring Common bridge locations, lower Wick Avenue near the well-lit Doubletree Hotel and the freeway/street approach to Penguin City when you come from the eastern side of the city.
Living downtown, I have noticed for almost three years that major portions of these entryways have been dark because of streetlight outages. About a year ago, I reported this at a City Council meeting and included some photos. At that time an invitation was made to a council subcommittee.
Sadly, the invitation never happened. Let me be clear – this dark area in the core of the city is the same area where thousands of Valley residents come for work, education, entertainment, relaxation, cultural enrichment and sporting events.
Imagine if you will, going to visit a friend and arriving at his home, business or apartment building and finding the lights out. This issue is not about me but about those who call downtown their home AND the thousands who visit our neighborhood for reasons mentioned.
The back-and-forth finger pointing at 26 S. Phelps St. (City Hall) and Ohio Edison is becoming almost laughable (not really) as these community leaders say they are responsive to the citizens who pay their salaries and their electric bills.
This past October a “reboot” of downtown was launched and the word was proclaimed, “Come downtown. We are open for business and ready to welcome you!”
Ever drive down a neighborhood street where most of the streetlights are out?? Pretty foreboding!
Downtown is becoming more and more of a neighborhood for many of us. That number is growing as two downtown towers are being converted into mixed-use buildings including apartments and condos. In modern America, lighting and parking are givens in most locales. For some reason, that doesn’t seem to be important within the core of the city that John Young founded back in 1797.
How grateful I would be to have some of the above explained, rebutted or clarified by those who are responsible for the quality of life within the confines of our city’s borders. I don’t expect that.
We have been left in the dark.