Clintonville Roundabout DOA

Dead On Arrival.

It looks like the proposed Clintonville roundabout, and all the controversy it stirred up is now a non-issue.  There’s no money to build it according to the Dispatch (see below).  The cost of the one roundabout does appear to have been $17.8 Million.  The ThisWeek article on the subject wasn’t clear if the $17 Million to $19 Million cost was for the one roundabout or for an ultimate concept including four roundabouts.

The Disptach article below also discusses whether or not a proposed roundabout should be built at Olentangy & Linworth now that the intersection is experiencing a lower crash rate than before.

Clintonville traffic circle idea killed
Monday, June 29, 2009 10:09 PM
By Mark Ferenchik and Robert Vitale
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Columbus officials have killed an idea for a proposed traffic circle at N. High Street and E. North Broadway in Clintonville because of high costs and concerns that it would require taking too much property from nearby landowners.

Meanwhile, a declining number of crashes at Linworth and Olentangy River roads have forced the Franklin County engineer to reconsider building a traffic circle there.

The Clintonville roundabout would have cost at least $17 million to build, planning and operations administrator Patricia Austin wrote in a letter to D Searcy, who leads the Clintonville Area Commission.

“There is no money for it. It’s simply not feasible,” said Rick Tilton, the city’s public service spokesman.

The total doesn’t include the cost of land acquisition, Austin said. She also thought the roundabout would take out a Starbucks and possibly a Kroger store at the intersection.

A Clintonville task force had estimated the project would cost $1 million.

The city had planned to build a left-turn lane from westbound North Broadway to High so people would not cut through side streets to head south on High. But some North Broadway residents oppose that idea, fearing their street would be widened.

READ MORE

Roundabout Proposed at High & North Broadway

The intersection of High Street and North Broadway is in the news again. This time, it’s an alternate proposal from the community to build a roundabout at the intersection.

High Street roundabout sought
Some on North Broadway favor circle over adding left-turn lane
Monday, June 22, 2009 3:11 AM
By Bill Bush
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A Clintonville task force is proposing what members say would be the first urban traffic roundabout in Franklin County, at High Street and E. North Broadway.

In suburbs such as Dublin and Hilliard, roundabouts have reduced injury accidents and process traffic more efficiently than traffic lights, officials say. Columbus city officials say only that they are studying the Clintonville proposal.

The idea surfaced after Columbus proposed a $385,000 widening of a small stretch of E. North Broadway to accommodate a left turn lane onto High Street.

Westbound motorists who want to turn south onto High use side streets because North Broadway does not have a turn lane, said Mike McLaughlin, a Clintonville Area Commission member.

The seven-member task force that McLaughlin led recommended that the turn-lane project go forward, but that a roundabout should eventually be built, he said.

…The project would cost about $1 million, not including acquiring about 30 parking spaces from a Kroger parking lot on the northwest corner and land from a Starbucks parking lot at the northeast corner and demolishing a vacant commercial building on the southwest corner, Blazer said.

READ MORE

The complaint by residents that adding a westbound left turn lane could somehow increase the likelihood of North Broadway being widened all the way to Indianola hasn’t resonated with me.  I think a turn lane could be added with very minimal impacts that would reduce delays at the intersection and solve the cut-through traffic problem for the residential streets in the neighborhood.

Despite that, this is an interesting proposal since there aren’t many examples of multi-lane modern roundabouts in urban locations in the US. The proposed drawing shows a big chunk of the already small Kroger parking lot gone along with the building on the southwest corner of the intersection. I wonder how Kroger feels about that?  The estimated cost of the roundabout is $1,000,000, not including land acquisition. The proposed left turn lane is just $365,000. Other economic costs to consider include the cost of crashes at the intersection, vehicle delays, and fuel use.

From the safety perspective, roundabouts reduce crashes by 37% on average and injuries by 50%. Depending on the number of crashes that currently take place at the intersection, that could be a significant cost savings that would make up for the difference in land acquisition and capital costs over time. On the other hand, there is a big debate in the transportation engineering community about the safety of multi-lane roundabouts in an urban context. The sticking point seems to be visually impaired pedestrians. We’re not sure that drivers yield consistently enough to keep a blind pedestrian safe.

I would need to do some detailed traffic modeling, which means I would need turning movement volumes, to determine if delays will be reduced at the intersection or not.  Roundabouts usually compare favorably with signalized intersections though.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in Clintonville.

3C Pushed Back to 2011

Passenger Trains To Be In Ohio By 2011
By Ana Jackson
Reporter
Published: June 18, 2009

CENTRAL OHIO—The fight for federal money is on, and Ohio is in the race for a piece of the $8 billion that President Obama recently allocated towards improving passenger-rail service.

Passenger trains were expected to be up and running in Ohio by 2010, but the fight for federal money is pushing the project back to 2011.

Governor Ted Strickland is asking for about $250 million to complete the 3-C corridor.

The 3-C corridor would connect Columbus to Cincinnatti, Cleveland, Dayton and stops along some suburbs.

Stu Nicholson, the spokesperson for the Ohio Rail Development Commission, say Ohio is considered a front-runner in the competition for federal funding because the state is working with other Mid-Western and Great Lakes states to share resources.

READ MORE

It may be news to NBC 4, but there are already passenger trains in Ohio, just not in Columbus. Nevertheless, it’s too bad to see the project getting pushed back a year from the original hope of 2010.  Better late than never though.

Reminder: 315 is Going to Start Sucking Today

From The Dispatch:

Rt. 315: Getting there from here
Sunday,  June 14, 2009 3:33 AM
BY BILL BUSH

While workers repair bridges and the highway surface, the 70,000 vehicles a day that travel Rt. 315 will be squeezed into two lanes in each direction, down from the existing three lanes. By next Monday, those temporary lanes all will be on what is currently the southbound side of the freeway in a project that is scheduled to stretch into October.

[Read More]

Stimulus Funds for Columbus

Council OKs accepting $33.5M in stimulus funds
Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 10:51am EDT | Modified: Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 10:56am
Business First of Columbus

More than $33 million in federal stimulus dollars is headed to three Columbus roadwork projects after Columbus City Council voted to accept the funding Monday night.

Council passed an ordinance accepting $33.5 million in stimulus funding, $25 million of which is headed to a project to widen and improve Parsons and Livingston avenues near the campus of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Council also accepted $5.5 million for a number of upgrades in downtown’s River South district.

…The third piece of funding council accepted Monday night is $3 million headed to reconstruction and resurfacing projects on eight city streets.

READ MORE

I’m generally leery of “widening and improving” intersections in urban locations like Parsons & Livingston, but I found a project description online and this looks like a genuine multi-modal improvement.  I expect that the widening will include left turn lanes which should improve safety and reduce delays.  The sidewalks will be widened from 4′ to 8′ wide and bike lanes (although only 4′ wide) will be included.

As for the street resurfacing, that’s always a good thing.  I made a map of the streets getting resurfaced here.

Morse Road Phase 2

Morse Road is about to get its second phase of infrastructure improvements.  Hopefully they can address some of the problems that are causing the high crash rates at Karl Road and Cleveland Avenue.

Funds in place for second round of Morse Road upgrades
* The thoroughfare’s stretch from Karl Road to Cleveland Avenue should have trees, bike paths and sidewalks by 2010.
By RACHEL BUCCICONE
Published: Sunday, June 7, 2009 10:05 AM EDT

The second half of planned work to make Morse Road friendlier to cyclists and pedestrians now has the funding to move forward.

Columbus City Council, at its June 1 meeting, approved the spending of $652,000 to acquire parcels necessary to complete the second phase of the Morse Road improvement Project.

That money comes from the Fed-State Highway Engineering Fund and will pay for improvements to modernize Morse Road, between Karl Road and Cleveland Avenue, Councilman Hearcel Craig said.

The 1.4-mile first phase consisted of new sidewalks and wheelchair ramps; upgraded storm sewers, streetlights and traffic signals; repaving; and the installation of marked bike lanes, 262 street trees and landscaped mediums [sic] between Indianola Avenue and Karl Road, said Rick Tilton, assistant director for the department of public service.

Public Service Director Mark Kelsey said the city has received kudos on the first round of improvements, with bicyclists and pedestrians enjoying access they didn’t have before. That portion of the project began April 2005 and was completed May 2008.

The second phase got under way in August 2008 and is projected to be complete by July 2010, Tilton said.

The upgrades to the 1.5 miles of Morse Road’s commercial area in the second phase include the same upgrades as the first, Craig said.

READ MORE

I’m personally really looking forward to the “landscaped mediums.”

Top 40 High Crash Intersections in Franklin County

I ran across the following NBC story, which has a couple of problems that I’ll discuss below:

Worst Franklin County Intersections Revealed
By Matt Alvarez
Reporter
Published: June 5, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio—NBC 4 has obtained a report from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission which breaks down the most deadly and dangerous intersections in Central Ohio.

According to MORPC, the most dangerous intersection in Central Ohio sits on the northeast side of Columbus.

Transportation experts say Cleveland Avenue and Morse Road is the worst intersection in Columbus, with 357 accidents between 2005 and 2007.

A total of two people died as a result of car accidents in the intersection along with a number of injury accidents.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Okay, so Cleveland & Morse has the highest crash frequency of any intersection in Franklin County.  Does that make it “the worst” intersection?  In short, no.  More important than crash frequencies are crash rates.  The number of crashes at an intersection can be expected to be somewhat correlated to the traffic volumes on the two streets.  That’s why a rate, which measures the crashes per vehicle entering the intersection is more useful.  The average severity of crashes is also important.  Fatalities and serious injuries cost more than property-damage-only crashes.

ODOT Looking at Columbus-Pittsburgh Corridor for Stimulus Funds

I have a feeling that the Columbus-Pittsburgh corridor was highlighted here because the news source is from Steubenville/Wheeling, not because it’s actually a top priority.  Nevertheless, the tracks are owned by the state, so there’s a unique opportunity there:

ODOT Plan Would Bring High-Speed Train Through Ohio Valley
Posted: 4:35 pm EDT June 3, 2009

Officials in Ohio are competing for federal money to build a high-speed train that will run through the Ohio Valley.

Wednesday, Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jolene Molitoris met with Vice-President Joe Biden to lean what the rules for the competition will be.

After the meeting, Molitoris indicated that Ohio is in “good shape” to get a piece of the $8 billion in economic stimulus money allotted for high-speed and inter-city rail projects.

“We think we’re a central force and kind of a lynch pin into really making this a success for our country,” Molitoris said.

The Ohio Department of Transportation wants to get trains running on existing state-owned tracks between Pittsburgh and Columbus. Currently, only freight trains travel those rails.

READ MORE

I hadn’t heard that this corridor is a top priority.

So is I-71 on hold or not?

There’s been some conflicting news about the status of the I-71 widening from four lanes to six lanes between Columbus and Cleveland. Almost all is finished, but will the last 25-mile segment in Morrow County be completed?

No money, so work on I-71 stops $86 million would finish up 10-year construction zone
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 3:07 AM
By Bill Bush
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

After 10 years of construction, a project to widen I-71 to at least three lanes between Columbus and Cleveland is almost done — and indefinitely on hold for lack of funding.

Even the availability of federal stimulus money for transportation projects won’t put it back on track any time soon. The remaining 25-mile stretch hasn’t been designed yet, although all bridge work will be completed by this fall.

Completing the job would cost about $86 million, which is not currently available, said ODOT spokeswoman Nancy Burton.

READ MORE

Or…

ODOT: I-71 widening will come
By Mark S. Jordan
May 19, 2009
Mt. Vernon News

MOUNT GILEAD — Although the economy has slowed things down, the long-planned widening of a 25-mile stretch of Interstate 71 in Morrow County has not been moved to the back burner, officials of the Ohio Department of Transportation said Monday.

Regional local government officials met with representatives of ODOT and the Ohio Department of Development in a meeting in Mount Gilead, arranged by State Rep. Margaret Ann Ruhl.

Ruhl called the meeting after concerns were expressed that the planned expansion of I-71 in Morrow County to three lanes on both sides of the highway was not going to take place. The original plan was to expand the road to six lanes from Cleveland to Columbus. The Morrow County stretch is the last part of the project to be completed.

READ MORE

Maybe I’m asking the wrong question.  It will probably get finished eventually, but when?

Does Your Commute Suck?

Transportation for America has started a new website called My Commute Sucks.  The goal of the site seems to be to send a bunch of the following form e-mails to Congress:

My commute sucks and it’s not getting any better. Stop pouring billions into a broken system. Transportation shouldn’t be an expensive, dirty burden. Fix it, clean it, make it work!

I haven’ t found any details on the site about how they want to “fix it, clean it, make it work,” but Transportation for America’s goals are clear on it’s own website.  It supports sustainable, multi-modal transportation.  They even have a blueprint for Congress to follow.

I’m all for transportation policy reform, but I’m not a big fan of blaming other people for your own stupid decisions.  Yes, there are countless policy decisions that have led to the suburbanization of America, which in turn has created “sucky” commutes.  However, most individuals could change their lifestyle if they really wanted to.  For the most part, you get to choose where you live and work.  You get to decide if being on a bus or train line is important to you.  You get to decide if you want to live in places with sidewalks, bike lanes, and paths.

I understand that sometimes there is a job opportunity that makes a bad commute worth it, but you still chose to take that job.  Sometimes it’s hard for a couple to both have a good commute.  In that case, at least one of you has decided that it’s okay to compromise on your commute for the good of the other person.  These are reasonable decisions, but they’re still your decision.

Nevertheless, if you need a place to vent about how your decisions have made your life more difficult, you can do it here or in our own comments section.  However if you really want change, you need to start voting with your feet.  Try to take jobs in transit accessible areas.  Try to live on a transit line that goes to your office.  If transit isn’t available, at least try to live in a walkable neighborhood. 

I’m sure some of you have great reasons why you have to endure a commute that sucks.  I’d love to hear about it.  Then I’ll probably tell you to move, start looking for a new job, or both.