SR 13 relocation: What are the long-term implications for the state route itself?

Editor’s note: The City of Mount Vernon announced in March that it will receive $3.3 million from the Ohio Department of Transportation for its State Route 13 relocation project – an effort two decades in the making, aimed at reducing traffic congestion and increasing safety in downtown Mount Vernon.

Back in April, we looked at the ways this project would impact traffic flow downtown – examining which streets would become busier, and less busy, as a result. This week, we’ll consider the potential long-term implications of this project, and we’ll look ahead at what’s next.

MOUNT VERNON — Local leaders believe relocating State Route 13 through downtown Mount Vernon would reduce traffic congestion and improve safety in the city’s central business district.

They also believe doing so would spur economic growth along the state route itself.

The city plans to extend Sandusky Street, building a new section that would connect its southern end (where it intersects with Ohio Avenue – the bend near the fire department) to Main Street (near the viaduct).

The city also plans to expand Sandusky Street from two to three lanes (two going south and one going north) on this stretch, leading up to West High Street.

This would allow all State Route 13 traffic to be rerouted to Sandusky Street, whereas it currently travels down Sandusky Street, High Street, Mulberry Street and Phillips Drive going south; and up Gay Street, Chestnut Street and Sandusky Street going north.

Local officials believe that, if the project is completed as planned, it would streamline travel through downtown Mount Vernon. It would decrease travel times going north and south through the city, while also decreasing the number of turns, stoplights and uphill grades pass-through vehicles might have to deal with on State Route 13.

It would lead to an increase in traffic on the newly-designed Sandusky Street as a result.

Area Development Foundation President Jeff Gottke believes the project would make it easier for local companies with multiple locations to do business.

“I think it would impact businesses that have a presence on the south side of town and the north side of town. So if I have storage housing on one side of town, and I have operations located on the other, this makes it much easier to get through,” he said.

“There’s not a huge advantage if I’m going from Newark to Mansfield. … But getting through town for local companies – it could benefit that.”

Heartland Commerce Park, the former Siemens campus, sits on State Route 13. As new tenants continue to fill the business park, City Engineer Brian Ball said added traffic and accessibility can only help its redevelopment.

“We’ll have tenants in there, and they’ll be able to walk to the health department and get a vaccine. They’ll be able to walk to a bunch of restaurants. If they want to drive, they’ll be able to do that, too,” Ball said.

“We had this synergy – I mean, I forget how many hundreds of people worked at Cooper’s. You had a large employer right here, and those people walked to lunch. You used to see them at the restaurants at lunchtime. And that’s created a big void.”

Gottke also believes the increase in traffic along State Route 13 could mean potential for new economic development nearby. He noted that commercial and residential developers look at traffic count when considering where to invest in a project.

“The thing that’s exciting is this makes west-of-Sandusky Street a more desirable location. Because now, all the traffic going north and south on Sandusky Street is gonna go through that area,” Gottke said. “So for residential and commercial development, that makes the west side of downtown much more desirable and in-demand.”

Both Gottke and Experience Mount Vernon Executive Director Lacey Filkins characterized West High Street as “the last frontier” for growth in downtown Mount Vernon. Whereas most of the northern, southern, central and eastern portions of the downtown district are built out, the west side still contains vacant land.

That could change with added traffic nearby.

“Downtown can really only grow in one direction, and that’s west,” Gottke explained. “So adding all that traffic on Sandusky Street makes that area more desirable from a commercial standpoint. I could see more commercial activity heading west from Sandusky, maybe even down as far down as Norton Street.

“That whole area, I think, is the next logical place for new commercial downtown activity.”

The city’s strategic plan calls for a renewed focus on revitalizing the West High Street corridor – not only making it a more prosperous, attractive and welcoming entryway to downtown, but also integrating it with the general feel of the district.

Filkins believes the State Route 13 project could help move those efforts along.

“That West High Street corridor of downtown is something our board has looked at as the next frontier of development in downtown Mount Vernon. That starts just with beautification and aesthetic efforts, but if you’re going to have more traffic going through that way, it opens up opportunities for making it an entry point for downtown in a way that it has not been before,” she said.

“This allows us to focus more of our efforts that way, including the West High corridor into the overall feel of downtown.”

The project also calls for new sidewalks along the relocated and expanded Sandusky Street.

This would help connect the west side of the city to the south side, Ball said, making it easier to walk or bike back and forth. Some residents without vehicles on the west side are currently walking along the railroad tracks to get to Baker’s IGA for groceries, Ball said, and this project would provide another, safer option to cross the river and get there.

The project would also help connect the Kokosing Gap Trail and Heart of Ohio Trail to downtown Mount Vernon, encouraging tourism and accomplishing another objective in the city’s strategic plan.

“That’s really where these transportation (plans) and the downtown plan really merge together, is getting the bike traffic safely in and out, on both sides of Main Street. …” Ball said. “All of this together – this master planning and all of this effort, together – is what we’re thinking.”

Next in this series, we’ll look at how downtown Mount Vernon – specifically Public Square, Gay Street and other main downtown thoroughfares – might be impacted by the city’s State Route 13 relocation project.