MOUNT VERNON — After hearing from residents and having concerns about the parameters given to the engineering company, Mount Vernon City Council members postponed action on an Edgewood Road traffic study until council’s Mar. 26 meeting.
In a Streets and Public Buildings Committee meeting on Monday, Committee Chairman Jeff Gottke outlined what he understood council would learn from a traffic study:
- Origin and destination of drivers using Edgewood Road
- Whether a connecting road to Upper Gilchrist Road would solve Edgewood Road problems
- What impact extending Edgewood Road to Coshocton Avenue would have on Coshocton Avenue and other neighboring streets
- The effect on traffic patterns and EMS/safety services if Edgewood Road was closed and whether surrounding streets can handle additional traffic or whether those streets would also become an issue
- The impact of traffic-calming devices such as speed bumps
Gottke said that an advantage of proceeding with a study is that the information would be available for a Mar. 13 public meeting. The flip side is twofold: there is still doubt whether the study is actually needed and the $30,000 to $50,000 estimated cost given that the city will lose around $1 million in revenue with the closing of Siemens Energy.
Councilman Chris Menapace said that reducing and slowing down traffic are the issues; completing the entire list simply complicates the scope of the project. When questioned, administration officials did not know the specific parameters given to Carpenter Marty Transportation, the engineering firm that would do the study. City Engineer Brian Ball was not present at the committee meeting.
East High Street resident Starla Benson recommended not doing the study, and said she wants to know the parameters of the study. She wants a written statement from city officials about what they are planning to do with proposed alterations to Edgewood Road, and cited four things she expects to see or learn at the Mar. 13 meeting:
- What problems will be addressed by the proposed alterations?
- Presentations and maps from city leaders
- An open session where residents can ask questions, not simply write suggestions on cards
- Additional meetings planned, traffic regulations enforced, and asphalt speed bumps installed
Dennis Swingle, East Chestnut Street, showed council members maps of previously suggested alternate routes to alleviate the traffic problems on Edgewood Road. All but one are now negated because of development.
Regarding the traffic study, he said he has tried to get specifics as to what is expected from the engineering firm but has been unsuccessful. He said he could not see spending $30,000 to $50,000 without having specifics, adding that for that amount speed bumps, which is what the residents requested in their initial petition, could be installed.
Resident, homeowner and civil engineer Gary Kester said he is concerned that the city is taking a myopic approach to the Edgewood Road problem and that the city should look at a comprehensive east-west traffic plan. Noting that it is apparent to him that community development will be on the east end, he said, “I think any discussion about extending Edgewood Road to Coshocton Avenue is not productive. It will just congest Coshocton Avenue further and turn Edgewood Road into an artery.”
Kester said that it is common sense that the focus should be to work toward getting traffic southeast of the city over to Upper Gilchrist Road, and the only current option is Eastern Star Road. He also encouraged council to vote no to a traffic study.
Councilman John Francis questioned whether, when they receive a video showing the violation, city officials aggressively pursue truck drivers who use Edgewood Road illegally. “Or do we just call and tell them to stay out?” he asked, adding that he has always been a proponent of quadrupling or tripling the fines, even when the offender is a local company.
Councilwoman Nancy Vail asked Law Director Rob Broeren if he has followed up on Municipal Judge John Thatcher’s suggestion that traffic violations be listed as unclassified misdemeanors vs simply misdemeanors. Unclassified misdemeanors are decided on a case-by-case basis and the punishment determined by the judge’s discretion. Broeren said he would have an answer by council’s Mar. 26 meeting.
The only other legislation on council’s agenda on Monday was a resolution authorizing the safety-service director to bid and contract for 2018 street resurfacing. Council gave the resolution a second reading.
Health commissioner Julie Miller updated council on city health statistics for 2017. She reported that a licensed professional counselor will offer services beginning Mar. 5, the clinic added another dental chair and medical exam room, community health assessments were mailed, and there are increased patients being seen in the community health center.
During a Planning & Zoning Committee meeting, Menapace asked questions and made suggestions about the proposed sign changes in the city’s code. He also advocated making the Board of Zoning Appeals simply an appeals board, with the initial decisions coming from city administration.
