Patrick Titterington, the city’s service and safety director, said the session was intended to help council and property owners along the corridor become familiar with the project; not for decision making.
City Engineer Jillian Rhoades said project objectives included safety; bicycle and pedestrian facilities; and infrastructure such as sidewalks and utilities.
The corridor study was kicked off in 2017 after the Ohio Department of Transportation told the city it would resurface the street in coming years. The city decided to look at changes before that work, Rhoades said.
“We knew there is a lot of traffic that travels on that road and the corridor is very tight,” she said, noting areas without curb and sidewalks against the travel lane.
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CMT is doing the safety portion of the project and Strand is working on the overall project.
Among concepts presented during the overview on Jan. 29 were proposed wider traffic lanes, a left turn lane across the corridor and addition of tree lawn between the street and sidewalk in areas where none exist today for the 1.7-mile long corridor.
A wider curb lane of 12 feet versus today’s 10 feet is included in the proposal along with a 12-foot turn lane and a 10.5-foot inside lane. The 12-foot curb lane would be intended to also serve as the street bike lane.
More land would be needed along the corridor for the project, Knebel said, adding, “For the most part this footprint does fit within the existing right of way.” Rhoades said the city would work with property owners, commercial and residential, along the way to address project impact as project design moves forward.
New and relocated traffic signals, utility work and other intersection improvements also were discussed.
Knebel said a three-year traffic study (2013-2015) of West Main Street showed 339 documented traffic crashes, 70 percent that occurred between downtown and Ridge Avenue intersection with Main Street. The worst area for accidents was the stretch of Main Street between Adams and Elm streets. A raised median between the east and west traffic lanes is among proposals for that section of Main Street to help cut down on traffic issues. The new hospital being built by Kettering Health Network is located north of Main Street between Adams and Elm streets. The city obtained right of way for the project during planning for that project.
The project would include utility work including storm sewer improvements and utility lines. Titterington said overhead utilities will not be moved underground due to considerations including costs and coordination of projects. Any utility changes necessary in the project will be paid for in the project costs, not assessed to property owners, he said.
Among next steps in the project would be applying for safety grants from the Ohio Department of Transportation, contracting for more detailed design and additional public information meetings.
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