A first-class bargain
To the editor: I would like to share with Press readers a copy of a letter I have written to the Wood County Commissioners.

Dear Mr. Carter: As a Wood County voter who values the Toledo Zoo as one of our region’s most important assets, I am asking that you approve their request to put an operating levy on the November ballot.

In this tough economy, any new tax requires careful consideration, however, we can do the math and we should have the opportunity to decide for ourselves if the value warrants the cost.

I personally feel that an annual tax of $26 on a $100,000 home in exchange for quality recreation and education, free visits and free services to schools, libraries and senior centers is a real bargain. Some voters may agree with me and some may not, but our voices should be heard.

Wood County residents visit the zoo, work at the zoo, do business with the zoo and are able to showcase our zoo as a superior quality of life incentive when recruiting new business. Wood County voters should have the opportunity to decide whether or not they want to support our zoo so that it continues to be the first-class asset we currently enjoy.

Please place this issue on the ballot and allow us to decide. Thank you for your attention.
Elaine Lewandowski
Rossford

Why higher prices?
To the editor: On May 18, gasoline was $3.74.9 per gallon at the Kroger store in Sylvania and $3.91.9 per gallon at the Kroger on Navarre Avenue in Oregon – a difference of 17 cents per gallon.

Gasoline at Kroger on Jackman Road is regularly lower than gasoline at the Kroger in Oregon. I travel by the Sylvania Kroger every other week and the price for gasoline is usually lower there than in Oregon. Can someone please explain the difference in price from one area to another when buying from the same outlet?

Why do East Toledo/Oregon customers pay more for gasoline than those living in other areas of Toledo?
Marian Gladieux
Oregon

Leave it at 55
To the editor: The Lake Township Trustees consider the west side of Fostoria Road to now be largely residential and “no longer conducive to the definition of a rural area mandating a 55 mph speed limit.”

That stretch of Fostoria Road from Woodville Road to Williston Road has not seen a new residence built in over 17 years. Yet suddenly it is residential now? Nothing has changed and this is a waste of time.

When the trustees argued that Woodville Road should be changed to 35 mph, they said this would bring it in line with the rest of Wood County. Let’s use the same argument here. Wouldn’t it be best for Lake Township to keep the speed at 55 mph, just like all of the other non-village, non-city sections of Fostoria Road in Wood County? Plus, it would be consistent with the Ottawa county side of the road for that same stretch.

At least the argument works when applied to Fostoria Road. The argument that the trustees applied to Woodville Road was apples to oranges. All sections of Woodville Road in Wood County that are not in Lake Township are four lanes with a fifth lane for turns and lined from end to end with businesses and homes that are right on the road. Lake Township’s stretch is two lanes with sporadic businesses, farm fields, and a small number of homes with drives directly connecting to the roadway. The Lake Township stretch is far more like the connecting stretch with Ottawa County, which is two lanes and 55 mph.

The whole issue strikes at the credibility of the trustees when it comes to speed limit changes. If you believe the change to 50 mph on Woodville Road has made the road safer, you are wrong. What really made the road safer was the reopening of the I-280 junction at State Route 795. That lightened traffic significantly. Yet we are now stuck with a lower speed limit due to a traffic study conducted at a time of artificially high volume on Woodville and the adjoining roads.

So in summation, leave Fostoria Road alone. Let’s not throw away local and state taxpayer money or create an artificial speed trap on a section of road that hasn’t changed in 17 years.
Louis Renford
Moline

Editor’s note:  Mr. Renford’s statement on residential development along Fostoria Road is based on information he received from the Wood County Auditor’s office.

The resolution approved by the trustees seeks a traffic study by the Ohio Department of Transportation, which would decide whether a lower speed limit is necessary. According to the resolution, residents along that stretch of Fostoria Road asked for a lower speed limit.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed