Community concerns over newly installed planters in Downtown Youngstown

[image]

You may notice black painted pots near downtown Youngstown streets. The idea behind them is to create space between pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. But a community advocate is worried about the addition.

The pots are part of the SMART2 project, and were put in place to encourage safe driving around bike riders.

In just three weeks, a section of the black pots were destroyed. They were placed in the buffer area between the road and bike lanes on downtown roads. The goal was to separate bike riders from traffic.

Scott Schulick, advocate for Downtown Youngstown, said the pots are a hazard for drivers.

"It surely doesn't appear to be the safest thing to have in the middle of the road given what's already happened, and I hope that they would reconsider and either put something that makes more sense to keep people in the appropriate lanes, but this clearly was not the right thing to do," said Schulick. He went on to say "It seems like an accident waiting to happen."

Schulick worries the pots are difficult to see, especially at night because of their size and dark color.

Although there have been some concerns about the installed planters being difficult to see, Ronnell Elkins, president of YoGo Bikeshare, said it encourages bike riding in the community.

"You got a barrier there. You kind of ride with the intention that hey, these people aren't going to cross over and hit me, you know because there's a barrier there. Versus not having anything there, somebody's looking down at their cell phone, and come right over directly to you," said Elkins.

The city's public works director stands by the idea, but acknowledges the pots may not be as useful in practice.

"There definitely has to be some type of buffer, and some way to calm the traffic down. We're going to try to look for a better solution to black flower pots," said Charles Shasho, Youngstown Deputy Director of Public Works.

Shasho also pointed out that the pots are in the buffer area between the bike lane and road.

While the city looks for alternative buffers, the pots were moved to the sidewalk area.

 


© Copyright 2000 - 2025 WorldNow and WFMJ