ThisWeek CW 08/27/2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/24/city-township-asked-to-deal-with-safety-traffic-issues.html
Residents brought concerns about speeding vehicles, pedestrian safety and bicycle safety to Canal Winchester City Council and Madison Township trustees last week.
City resident Mary Jane Metcalf, who is a member of the Community Watch Program, along with her husband, John, told council Aug. 17 they’ve seen an increase in the number of vehicles using bicycle lanes to make right turns along Gender Road.
“I have a concern,” Metcalf said. “The bike path going north on Gender that crosses at Canal Street is one of the intersections that three times during our recent bicycle rides we’ve seen people using the bike lane as a right-turn lane. They probably don’t realize they’re doing it, but it is dangerous.”
Metcalf asked city officials to consider installing steel bollards such as those used for the bike lane at Winchester Boulevard.
Public Works Director Matt Peoples said he would look into it.
“We had that same situation at Winchester Boulevard before we upgraded it and I’ve seen what you’re saying myself at Canal Street,” Peoples said. “This might be something we could budget for in next year’s street program, but it might have to be more of a capital project depending on the cost.
“I think, with BrewDog going in, we’ll want to take a look at other locations as well and maybe have that done as part of their traffic study.”
Traffic accidents on and near Gender Road have been costly to the city as well this year; Finance Director Amanda Jackson has requested a $50,000 appropriations amendment to help offset repair costs for six different light poles hit by vehicles already in 2015.
“In one recent accident that took out some of the bollards at Winchester Boulevard, the bollards alone cost us $25,000 but fortunately, we did get a check from that individual’s insurance company to pay for those,” Jackson said.
Madison Township trustees received a petition at their Aug. 19 meeting signed by more than a dozen residents requesting a traffic study be completed on Winchester Pike between Courtright and Schwartz roads due to concerns about traffic speed.
“We’ve had a request from these residents to ask the Franklin County Engineer to complete a traffic study, but we’ll need a letter from the trustees requesting it,” township Administrator Susan Brobst said.
Trustee Gary McDonald said he sees drivers regularly speeding along that stretch of roadway.
“People do 60-70 mph on that stretch all the time so I think it would be a very good idea to have a study done there and to see what we can do,” McDonald said.
He and Trustee Victor Paini voted in favor of submitting the request; Trustee Ed Dildine was absent.
Madison Township Road Superintendent Dave Weaver said his department has been working to complete curb painting, with a particular focus on correcting the painted areas that do not meet specifications.
“We’re moving along pretty well with our painting and making sure we get them all to the proper specs, such as restricting parking for 20 feet around school crosswalks, which we’ve had some calls on,” he said. “The issue is that we need to make sure that traffic can see when people are about to enter the crosswalk and you can’t do that if a car is parked too close.”
Weaver said that after finishing the curb painting throughout the township, his crew will focus on repainting the crosswalks.
“We’ve had some equipment issues, and due to all the rain earlier in the year, we were put a little behind schedule with this but we’ll get it done,” he said.