Proposed bike routes slow to move ahead

The city of Columbus committed $350,000 two years ago for a bikeway plan in Clintonville, safe routes through neighborhoods that would connect riders to stores, restaurants and the Olentangy Trail.

But the plan is still not close to completion. And it appears that the city won't have money to implement the plan anyway in 2018.

"It's very much a work in progress," said Andrew Overbeck, who leads the planning and development committee for the Clintonville Area Commission. Residents rode with city staffers in October to check out the routes, Overbeck said.

The routes would not be dedicated bike paths or trails.

They would be marked with signs and “sharrows,” pavement markings with chevrons and a bicycle that remind riders and drivers to share the road.

The routes being discussed were chosen because they are on low-traffic streets and deemed to be safer. But some residents say other routes should be chosen because new, nearby businesses have increased traffic on some, such as East Piedmont Road.

“I’ve gotten a lot of emails from the neighborhood since September,” Clintonville Area Commissioner Judy Minister said.

Some also believe that certain crossings at North High Street would be dangerous, because intersecting streets don’t line up, such as on Weisheimer Road, where riders and walkers have to take a little jog. “We’re working out how to cross those streets safely,” said Will Koehler, a resident who suggested the greenways system after visiting Portland, Oregon, and seeing what it offered.

Residents along Delawanda Avenue near the Old Beechwold neighborhood are concerned about increased traffic from a proposed complex of 200 apartments near Graceland Shopping Center. One of the routes connects through the neighborhood to Graceland.

Minister said she would like to hold a community meeting to iron out issues.

Libby Wetherholt, who leads the Clintonville Area Commission, said she believes residents can work it out.

“I know we can make it safe,” she said.

Even so, it might take longer to implement the system. The city does not have enough money in its Urban Infrastructure Recovery Fund to pay for it next year. The city’s priority for Clintonville in 2018 is two planted medians on North High Street and Indianola Avenue, as well as brick crosswalks at four intersections.

Those project bids came in more than $200,000 higher than expected.

Mark Dravillas, the city’s assistant planning manager who has worked on the bike routes, said officials are finishing up the planning and design. The question is whether money will delay it.

“It’s been a good project,” Dravillas said. “The community had this idea. There’s been a lot of back and forth.”

Other cities with similar greenways include Minneapolis; Madison, Wisconsin; Columbia, Missouri; and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Ultimately, the commission and residents only advise Columbus officials.

“The city can overrule us on any of this,” Wetherholt said.

She hopes the greenways will make drivers more aware of bicyclists on the streets. “It seems drivers aren’t paying attention to much of anything anymore,” she said.

Asked whether the routes and the plan are likely to be resolved any time soon, Wetherholt said no.

“It’s Clintonville,” she said.