By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com

Mike Willacker had a delivery from the U.S. Postal Service for the Bucyrus Traffic Commission Monday morning. Willacker, who is the postmaster for the Bucyrus Post Office, brought several requests to the Traffic Commission.

The first thing Willacker put on the table were mailboxes being erected in front of homes on South Walnut Street at the request of the Post Office. Willacker informed the city that other areas of town were likely to follow where it made sense. Mayor Roger Moore asked that the city be notified when an area was going to be asked to put up mailboxes and that the city be given a list of specifications for those mailboxes.

“There are two bills in Congress right now,” Willacker said about in-town mailboxes or even community mailboxes that would eliminate postal carriers going all the up to a house. “We’re trying to get ahead of the curve.”

Willacker added that other areas of town may be considered as soon as this coming spring.

Willacker also asked that parking in front of the Post Office on the west side of South Poplar Street be limited to 20 minutes and that there be no parking allowed on a section of West Warren Street during the times semi-trucks drop off mail.

The Traffic Commission said it would investigate and consider the requests.

Among other items discussed in the Traffic Commission meeting included a traffic count over the railroad crossing on Sears Street. That crossing is under consideration to be closed permanently. Service/Safety Director Jeff Wagner informed the commission that a recent traffic count at the crossing averaged 250 vehicles per day.

Wagner as well as other members of the commission expressed a concern about the accuracy of the count.

“I was shocked,” Wagner said.

The Bucyrus Fire Department will be asked to do a random visual count to check on those numbers.

The stop signs at the Marion Road and South Sandusky Street intersections also received considerable discussion. Under consideration is the removal first stop sign on Marion Road facing northbound traffic. A permanent sign in the striped area would replace the temporary sign there. Another sign advising northbound motorists of the upcoming stop would be placed farther south.