City officials said the moves will improve safety in those areas because of an expected increase in traffic flow resulting in the Ohio 444 closure.
“While it will be an inconvenience to those who park there and live there now, it’s one of those things where we’re thinking of the safety of the greater number of people, which are motorists using that roadway,” said Jim Sawyer, city engineer.
The changes will be effective 30 days after passage, but the city will set up temporary signs in the meantime. The cost to the city will be minimal, with about half a dozen signs costing between $100 to $150 each, Sawyer said.
The reroute of a mile-and-a-half stretch of Ohio 444 is designed to enhance security around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The portion of Ohio 444 that will be closed off — which currently bisects Area A — is on federal land.
The current Ohio 444 will close at Dayton-Yellow Springs. The new Ohio 444 will then begin at the Dayton-Yellow Springs and the Kauffman Avenue intersection, continue along Kauffman to Central and west onto Dayton.
The portion of Dayton between Broad and Central where parking will be prohibited is four-tenths of a mile.
James Burnett, who owns a double on 311 W. Dayton, said that his tenants have parked on the street the last 25 years because there is only a single driveway to the property.
“I’ve got to build a driveway somehow, someway through the alley so one of my tenants can park,” Burnett said. “I have no idea what it’s going to cost me.”
Parking had been permitted on both sides of Dayton-Yellow Springs in a 750-foot section of the street, but parking on the north side will be removed, preventing parents and teachers from crossing the street to access Fairborn Primary School. Parking on the south side will remain.
Councilman Dan Kirkpatrick expressed a concern about how it would impact parents, but Fairborn City Schools Superintendent Dave Scarberry said the district will communicate the changes to parents and that no issues are anticipated. The need for parking there has diminished since the implementation of a new drop-off point on Funderburg Road.
The speed limit is 35 miles per hour, with an average daily traffic volume of 10,000 vehicles per day, the city said in a memo. An increase in traffic is expected on Dayton-Yellow Springs, which will be a direct connector between Interstate 675 and the newly rerouted portion of Ohio 444.
“The north side is too dangerous and we want to accommodate the additional traffic in a safe way,” Sawyer said.
City Council also agreed to prohibit right turns on red from westbound Main Street onto Broad. The reason for the modification is the adjacent buildings’ close proximity to the road and the new gateway wall on the southeast corner of the intersection that limits sight distance, Sawyer said.
About the Author