Far Northwest Coalition

6/19/2000 HARD RD MEDIAN MEETING

HARD ROAD MEDIAN MEETING MINUTES

FAR NORTHWEST COALITION
P. O. BOX 340285 COLUMBUS, OH 43234

June 19, 2000 UNAPPROVED MINUTES

The Far Northwest Coalition (FNWC) hosted a public meeting at the Northwest Library concerning the Hard Road Project. Members present of the FNWC were John Best, John Murley, Patti Orders, Mark Seeger & Rich Herner.

John Best opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and talked in general terms about the Hard Road project. The first phase, from Smokey Row to Linworth Road is to start in FY 2001; followed by the 2nd phase to be Linworth Road to State Route 315 in FY 2003-2004; and the final phase to be from Sawmill Road to Smokey Row. The group spoke briefly about the 192 acres of undeveloped land owned by the Antrims and how its final use may impact this project.
In addition, there was also a short discussion about the proposed railroad underpass & whether it should be steel or concrete, as well as fencing, landscaping and graffiti issues.

Bill Carter of the City of Columbus Engineer's Office and Greg Parsons of URS Greiner, Woodward & Clyde, architects of the project were present. They spoke of the project and about the possibility of getting some additional money through MORPC as part of the Transportation Enhancement Program, which provides funds for landscaping, bikeways, etc. Carter said the Hard Road project would qualify and the purpose of the meeting was to speak to
the group about these issues and the possibility of applying for some of these funds.

Carter said the Environmental Document is awaiting approval from the State of Ohio and that is anticipated in September 2000. After that, a public hearing, with written comments only, would be held. He said they have already started some of the detail design work & they are proposing that the 5th (middle) lane that was originally to be used for turns have a median instead. They are proposing brick type pavers on a concrete base with small trees every 50 feet or so. The trees would have drainage grates around them for water to get to them. This would make for a visually pleasing area, as well as being easily maintained and it also tends to have a traffic calming effect. The posted speed limit should be 35 MPH. It may be up to the local neighborhoods to maintain the trees but the City would maintain the rest of the street, median, curbs, gutter and so forth. The plan also calls for a striped bikelane adjacent to the roadway. The pavers would complement the underpass material, which is proposed to be concrete with a surface texture of dry stacked stone.

An alternative for the median would be stamped concrete, which would be cheaper but if any repairs have to be made, it can never be brought back to the original. It will always look patched. The consensus was to go with better materials and a better look right away. Carter said the City needs approval from the railroad on the bridge supports. Original concrete supports have been changed because of the difficulty in making repairs. With a steel support repairs can be made much more easily. The bridge would also have decorative fencing to keep pedestrians off the tracks. Carter said if the State approves the Environmental Document in the anticipated 90 days, it would then take about a year to a year & a half to obtain the right of way. The relocation of utilities would then begin. Traffic will be maintained in both directions and the railroad track will have to be relocated while the bridge is being rebuilt. So, it could be the spring of 2002 before any actual work commences. He said ODOT is paying 80% of the cost of the project and that is why they have to continually wait on the State. He said MORPC has projected that Central Ohio will have up to 400,000 more residents in the next 20 years & that is one of the reasons why this project is so critical now.

Other questions from the group revolved around mounding as a noise and visual buffer, traffic signals, the ingress and egress at the two Worthington schools and the continual changing of timelines and the start date for the project. In addition there were some questions concerning the right of way for residents near Fallhaven. Carter said the deadline for the request for these funds was on June 30. The group consensus, by an informal show of hands, was to support the proposal for the median with pavers and trees as submitted by Carter and Parsons.
John Best will address a letter to that effect to indicate the support of the FNWC.

Respectfully submitted,

Rich Herner
FNWC Secretary