Open Source: What happens in the wake of Edgewood Road project failure

MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon voters emphatically rejected the Edgewood Road improvement project by a referendum in the 2024 General Election.

In the aftermath, a question remains, what now?

“While we are disappointed in the results of the Edgewood Road improvements referendum, we are hopeful one day we can fix the many issues in the Edgewood Road area,” Mount Vernon’s service-safety director Tanner Salyers said.

“Clearly the voters said that now is not the time. Until then, the city will redirect our efforts into other neighborhoods which need improvements as well.”

The city administration received $2 million in ODOT and $700,000 in funding from the Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization (CORPO) for the project. Now, all that money will be returned.

Salyers said the city administration plans to focus on the west-side portion for further improvements.

“The west end has begged for attention and reinvestment,” Salyers said. “We’ve heard them and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Edgewood Road referendum received 4,368 votes against the project and 2,478 for it, according to final, unofficial results from the Knox County Board of Elections.

The Edgewood Road improvement resolution passed 4-3 on March 25, with councilmembers Amber Keener, Tammy Woods and Janis Seavolt in opposition.