Ottawa Hills tables Secor Road discussion

Bicycles proceed southward on Secor Road approaching Darlington Road Saturday during a bike ride organized by the Save Our Secor group. The Ottawa Hills Village Council took no action Monday on the proposed reconstructing of Secor into a five-lane road.

Ottawa Hills officials tonight postponed deciding whether to reconstruct Secor Road to see if they can work out an agreement with Toledo.

Ottawa Hills Village Council voted 4-2 to table for 30 days action on the hotly debated joint project with the city of Toledo, which needs approval from both municipalities to move forward.

Toledo officials have proposed widening the road from West Bancroft Street to Markway Road and adding medians, turn lanes, and roundabouts to address traffic and safety concerns.

That proposal would cost about $11.3 million — which would be funded mostly through grants and cost Ottawa Hills about $98,000 overall. The widening would have put about a dozen homes in Ottawa Hills in jeopardy, and with it property tax revenue the local school district counts on.

Monday’s vote comes after the three-member Ottawa Hills streets committee voted unanimously March 3 to reject that proposal after hearing vocal opposition from residents on both sides of Secor.

“Subsequent to that, we’ve had a chance to talk to some people and determine that perhaps we do have some time to negotiate with Toledo, and we’d like to negotiate with Toledo on some changes,” said Councilman Rex Decker, who chairs the streets committee.

Contact Sarah Elms at: selms@theblade.com or 419-724-6103 or on Twitter @BySarahElms.