Dear Mayor Siciliano-Kilway,

First off, I applaud your leadership on the AI police "service" and the training facility at the Goodyear Heights Metro Park. I've messaged my Akron rep Lombardo and the at-large reps about the latter. I've also contacted local media. My takeaway is that Akron needs to be on good terms with Tallmadge and not enter an escalating fight between the two cities. For AI policing, you've been speaking with my mom, Sarah Manka.

I'm messaging today to offer a consolation prize for the school levy not passing. I remember losing busing when a levy around 2008 failed and how hard that was. If high school busing is being eliminated, and K-8 busing is eliminated within 2 miles, there's a lot that can be done for walkability and bikeability. This would reduce traffic during school pickups and have the bonus of not polluting kids' lungs with toxic Particulate Matter (PM). It probably leads to better test scores too.

You can show leadership as Mayor and show that you care about residents even if there's not a lot of money to go around for schools right now. I'm sending this to my mom's council reps and the school board president. 

Edward Trail, Baldwin Dr, or the Southern tip of Whittlesey Dr are great candidates for a walking path to THS. I think I knew people back in 2013 that walked from that neighborhood to school. A paved path would be walkable and bikeable, and keep kids off of East Ave. I know you said East is supposed to get widened and a sidewalk, but that might take longer than what I'm proposing. Also, I don't know if you bike, but biking on busy roads absolutely sucks. I take side streets the minute I am able, and most bikers I know do the same. I would literally take a 10 minute longer route if it meant quiet, low traffic 25 mph roads instead of blistering 35 mph East Ave. (You might remember from driver's education or physics class: 35 mph means double the energy of 25 mph.)

The Whittlesey option also improves access to the Rec and the Lutheran Church + Preschool.

If one of these three routes opened up, you'd have a 25 mph max route for all the kids who live North of East ave. I'm kind of staggered by how a short 500 foot change can open up that whole area for hundreds of kids. Worst case commute snaking through the neighborhood is 12 minutes. Faster than a bus or car (good luck turning left towards the Lutheran church when THS lets out).

This opens up the possibility of extending into Parliament Dr and improving access and economic activity in the Brimfield shopping plaza / JEDD / new retirement community. Problem for another day.

You're blessed with one complex serving all of K-8. The top of your agenda should be this sidewalk at Stafford Dr / Tallwood Dr:

Here's a mockup of a smoother curve into the road:

Give kids a gentler slope as they exit or enter the road. I believe the dip right before the road is a doozy. When it warms up again I can bike to my mom's house and check. 

The width of the sidewalk should be increased as it approaches the road.

The curbs in the immediate vicinity of the existing curb cut out should be removed and gently sloped.

Some kind of traffic island or traffic calming would be great on a few roads. Tallmadge is very accessible on bike via side streets, except those brief moments you have to cross a major road. Federal DOT says the average cost to install a traffic island is $13,500. Eyeballing it, every spoke of Tallmadge circle could use a safe crossing.

A safe crossing at Timothy Dr would open up the existing sidewalk to the Rec / THS.

Similar opportunities on South Ave at, for example, Furguson and Van Evera. Ferguson continues East and becomes S Elm, which crosses Southeast Ave and goes straight to TMS / TES. For a five figure sum you could make pretty much every home in Tallmadge able to safely get to school without a car or bus.

I know you said the Freedom Trail crossing at Howe Rd was supposed to get a safe crossing, but what about the one near lion's park?

This entire neighborhood east of North Ave is able to cut through Lions Park , cross Northeast Ave, and take the Freedom trail to the Circle, then up the hill to the schools.

Possible empty lot at Cherry Rdg may be able to connect to Springe Grove Dr and continue this network.

Tallmadge already has a pretty good bike network by virtue of its low-speed, low-traffic roads. But its road layout, presumably designed to confuse the Minotaur, also confuses cyclists. 

I think you said Hanna Dr is going to connect to MACA?

If so, the entire eastern section of Tallmadge can easily and safely get to THS, TMS, the Rec, and the Lutheran church. And they can continue by sidewalk to Tallmadge Circle.

Here's the route I take today:

For (I assume) a few thousand bucks, you could make it much nicer:

One idea I'm looking into in Akron is having a local shop sell basic bike tire inner tubes. Akron already has repair stations like this $2000 one from Dero. I don't believe Tallmadge has anything like that. Getting a flat tire or loose handlebars on a long ride sucks and can make people not want to ride.

Most bikes use inflatable inner tubes that go inside the outer tire. The tubes are consumable and can pop. Riding on city streets, I get around one pop per year. A basic new tube is about $10 online so maybe $20 in stores.

Speedway would be a great candidate for stocking a small number of tubes because they are open most hours people would be riding, and they are right on the Freedom Trail.

You can see more of my work on VisionZeroAkron.org. I was recently published in the Beacon with a notable section:

And we will be a truly great city when our kids are able to get to school safely without a bus. We should reduce traffic on "School Streets," like New York City has implemented, temporarily using those spaces for outdoor learning and walking to school instead. Parents can also escort groups of children to school on bikes, kept safe by speed cameras, as seen in cities like Melrose, Massachusetts, with its “Bike Buses.” These improvements could lead to smaller budgets, better test scores and healthier kids.

Thanks for reading,

Andy Manka, Akron, Lived in Tallmadge 1995-2013, 2020-2022