After receiving over 60 comments from Marion residents regarding a project to improve safety on State Route 95, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has made changes to their plans, including the addition of bike lanes and some sidewalks. Over half of the comments received specifically address those two issues.
Becky Wagner, manager of the project, said that one resident best summed up the comments received by asking ODOT to “design and improve Ohio 95 in Marion County and the City of Marion as a Complete Street that enables safe, attractive, and comfortable access and travel for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and public transit users of all ages and abilities.”
During a public meeting held earlier this year, ODOT officials said they felt that few changes would be made to the project because it had already been redesigned once before. The latest changes were prompted directly by the comments received.
The effort to get sidewalks and bike lanes included was led by two groups of area residents; Pioneering Healthy Communities and EnVISIONing Marion County.
One of the major changes will be the addition of bike lanes on both sides of State Route 95. ODOT said they are working with their consultant to include the bike lane striping into the project between University Drive and Blevins Drive.
Another addition will be some sidewalks. While they will not be included along the entire project, ODOT said they will now include several sections where there is already right-of-way available. Those sections are expected to include both sides of the road between University Drive to Eastlawn Drive and from the Walmart and Forum Shopping Center driveways to the National Tire and Battery and Panera Bread driveways.
One short coming of the sidewalk plan is there will not be a bridge over Graves Creek, which sits to the east side of the Marion Campus. ODOT says that would require the widening of the bridge, an expensive endeavor.
Wagner says the project construction contract is set to be awarded in spring of 2013 and actual construction could begin soon after.
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