2-WAY TRAFFIC UNLIKELY FOR SUMMIT OR 4TH

Columbus Dispatch, The (OH) - November 19, 2004

Author: Debbie Gebolys; THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Changing Summit and 4th streets to two-way traffic could create more problems than it might solve, consultants said in a report to
Columbus officials.
The commuter routes that connect Clintonville to Downtown cut through Italian Village and University District neighborhoods, carrying
5,000 or more vehicles an hour during peak times each day. Cars zipping along the stretch between Hudson Street and I-670 are
"extremely disruptive to life along these streets," according to the Italian Village master plan.
The streets were included in an analysis that city officials commissioned last year, asking the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission to
determine whether Summit, 4th and several Downtown streets could be converted to two-way traffic.
The conversions on Summit and 4th would lessen rush-hour impact on the neighborhoods and make it easier for drivers to move short
distances, said consultant Doug Moore, of Burgess & Niple. But the change would eliminate on-street parking south of Chittenden
Avenue, increase traffic congestion and make it more difficult for pedestrians to safely cross the streets.
By comparison, keeping streets one-way while narrowing existing travel lanes and adding a bicycle lane could reduce the amount and
speed of traffic on the streets. Those improvements likely would be cheaper than converting to two-way, although Moore did not have
cost estimates.
City officials are expected to review the findings and deliver recommendations about Summit and 4th to the City Council by early next
year, said Bill Lewis, Columbus traffic engineer. Even sooner, city officials will recommend which other Downtown streets could be
converted to two-way traffic based on earlier MORPC analyses.
Both MORPC studies come to similar conclusions, that one-way traffic might have its downside but is better than the alternative.
Mark Haker, representing the Italian Village Society, said he wasn't surprised by the MORPC study even though he and his neighbors
favor two-way streets.
"We all have the understanding that probably (the change is) not going to happen," he said. "I don't believe that there is any real
concerted desire on the part of the traffic engineers to have those converted to two-way streets."
It isn't the first time a traffic analysis favored keeping traffic one-way on Summit and 4th.
A Campus Partners neighborhood revitalization study adopted by the Columbus City Council in 1997 concluded: "It is unrealistic to
pursue this change until there are major alterations in travel modes, patterns and/or volumes."
Campus Partners consultants said the issue was among the most controversial in its study of how to revitalize the University District
neighborhood.
"It was something the neighbors in the area had wanted for years," Campus Partners spokesman Steve Sterrett said. "I know that folks in
Italian Village would still like to see it go back to two-way."
The streets were converted to one-way corridors in the 1950s. They are part of the federal highway system because they are part of Rt.
23. That designation comes with federal money for road construction and maintenance but carries certain traffic-volume requirements.
"It seems likely we're going to have to live with one-way streets for quite some time," said Peter Cass, senior legislative analyst for the city.
dgebolys@dispatch.com
Caption: MAPMap
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