Have we elected a mayor who is actually walking the walk and putting our city first???
My gosh, what will he do next??
Pickerington wants relief for commuter-clogged roads
By Jim Woods THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Tussing and Refugee roads were rural two-lane thoroughfares not so long ago.
But as Pickerington grew and Columbus sprawled outward in the 1990s, the two roads between Rt. 256 and Brice Road became overloaded.
New Pickerington Mayor Mitch O?’Brien would like to see something done to improve the two east-west roads, which are heavily used by commuters.
The roads are largely within Columbus. O?’Brien said he?’ll first meet with Columbus City Council members or other city officials to discuss what can be done.
It might be a while before Columbus addresses the roads, though. Mary Carran Webster, the city?’s assistant public service director, didn?’t have answers last week on where the two roads are on the city?’s priority list for improvements.
Columbus officials have recognized errors in not planning for growth in the past. They have since adopted a ''pay as you grow'' policy that requires developers and new residents to bear the costs of building roads in growing areas.
Meanwhile, Pickerington residents have to cope with the results of past policy when driving on Tussing and Refugee roads.
''We?’re facing the same issues,'' O?’Brien said. ''The roads they were improving were outdated by the time they were done. They could never get ahead of the curve.''
Columbus officials say they are changing their ways.
Thousands of new houses are planned for the Hayden Run and Cosgray road area on the Northwest Side between Dublin and Hilliard. The city worked out a plan with developers and Franklin County to widen Cosgray Road to five lanes, with curbs and gutters.
On the Northeast Side near New Albany, a community development authority will assess fees to new residents to help pay for new roads, parks and police and fire protection.
In both areas, property taxes are also being used to help pay for improvements.
''The people moving to the new areas are going to be paying for their fair share for the additional services that the development creates,'' said Greg Davies, assistant director of the Columbus Development Department.
Ideally, O?’Brien would like to see both roads widened. Tussing Road has some turn lanes but not enough to handle traffic from subdivisions and apartment complexes. The shoulder berms also are inadequate.
Donna Vasa, who has lived in the Park Place West subdivision off Tussing Road since 1998, said traffic has increased markedly since then.
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission traffic counts show an average of 18,500 cars per day on Tussing Road near Brice Road in 2001. In 2003, the agency counted an average of 14,000 cars per day on Tussing near Rt. 256.
Something needs to be done to the intersection of Refugee and Hines roads, which has a railroad crossing, O?’Brien said.
A MORPC traffic count last year found that an average of 15,300 vehicles travel through the intersection of Gender and Refugee roads each day. Counts taken in 2003 found 13,500 to 14,000 vehicles use the Refugee-Hines junction each day.
Summer Moynihan, block watch coordinator for Park Place West, said she would like to see a traffic light at Refugee and Hines roads. Vasa agreed.
O?’Brien said the traffic on Tussing and Refugee roads reminds him of the Sawmill Road area, where he lived before he moved to Pickerington.
jwoods@dispatch.com
My gosh, what will he do next??
Pickerington wants relief for commuter-clogged roads
By Jim Woods THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Tussing and Refugee roads were rural two-lane thoroughfares not so long ago.
But as Pickerington grew and Columbus sprawled outward in the 1990s, the two roads between Rt. 256 and Brice Road became overloaded.
New Pickerington Mayor Mitch O?’Brien would like to see something done to improve the two east-west roads, which are heavily used by commuters.
The roads are largely within Columbus. O?’Brien said he?’ll first meet with Columbus City Council members or other city officials to discuss what can be done.
It might be a while before Columbus addresses the roads, though. Mary Carran Webster, the city?’s assistant public service director, didn?’t have answers last week on where the two roads are on the city?’s priority list for improvements.
Columbus officials have recognized errors in not planning for growth in the past. They have since adopted a ''pay as you grow'' policy that requires developers and new residents to bear the costs of building roads in growing areas.
Meanwhile, Pickerington residents have to cope with the results of past policy when driving on Tussing and Refugee roads.
''We?’re facing the same issues,'' O?’Brien said. ''The roads they were improving were outdated by the time they were done. They could never get ahead of the curve.''
Columbus officials say they are changing their ways.
Thousands of new houses are planned for the Hayden Run and Cosgray road area on the Northwest Side between Dublin and Hilliard. The city worked out a plan with developers and Franklin County to widen Cosgray Road to five lanes, with curbs and gutters.
On the Northeast Side near New Albany, a community development authority will assess fees to new residents to help pay for new roads, parks and police and fire protection.
In both areas, property taxes are also being used to help pay for improvements.
''The people moving to the new areas are going to be paying for their fair share for the additional services that the development creates,'' said Greg Davies, assistant director of the Columbus Development Department.
Ideally, O?’Brien would like to see both roads widened. Tussing Road has some turn lanes but not enough to handle traffic from subdivisions and apartment complexes. The shoulder berms also are inadequate.
Donna Vasa, who has lived in the Park Place West subdivision off Tussing Road since 1998, said traffic has increased markedly since then.
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission traffic counts show an average of 18,500 cars per day on Tussing Road near Brice Road in 2001. In 2003, the agency counted an average of 14,000 cars per day on Tussing near Rt. 256.
Something needs to be done to the intersection of Refugee and Hines roads, which has a railroad crossing, O?’Brien said.
A MORPC traffic count last year found that an average of 15,300 vehicles travel through the intersection of Gender and Refugee roads each day. Counts taken in 2003 found 13,500 to 14,000 vehicles use the Refugee-Hines junction each day.
Summer Moynihan, block watch coordinator for Park Place West, said she would like to see a traffic light at Refugee and Hines roads. Vasa agreed.
O?’Brien said the traffic on Tussing and Refugee roads reminds him of the Sawmill Road area, where he lived before he moved to Pickerington.
jwoods@dispatch.com
