The city’s Steering Committee officially started the new project April 29. Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) chose the initiative to receive free assistance in creating a plan.
“The vast bulk of the spending is going to be from ODOT,” City Planner Andrew Rodney told this news outlet Tuesday. “Functionally, the city is spending zero on the plan.”
The plan is aimed at strengthening the city’s commitment to a more connected and inclusive community, Rodney said.
One place where the plan could make a difference and help improve daily life include improving access to the Great Miami River Bikeway from the city’s neighborhoods, which Rodney said “will be a big part of the plan.”
A “perfect example of where a relatively easy, minor connection is needed but lacking,” Rodney said, is the area along Old Main Street around Mays Avenue where the bike path is adjacent to, but just above the road, and has no direct connection to the neighborhood.
“Connectivity is generally poor outside downtown,” he said.
There are some “desire lines” on Byers near Ohio 725 where people have worn a path where there’s no sidewalk, he said. Addressing those makeshift paths will be part of the plan, Rodney said.
Other real-world examples that city officials would like to address are non ADA-complaint ramps throughout the city, he said.
The city is generally more connected than many of its peer communities, he said.
“For Miamisburg, it’s more about closing gaps, managing obstacles and removing barriers than wholesale additions of big, new infrastructure,“ Rodney said.
Miamisburg’s Steering Committee is slated to meet again from 6 to 7 p.m. June 12 at Miamisburg Public Library to gather feedback from the public. For more details, call 937-847-6536 or email andrew.rodney@cityofmiamisburg.com.
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