Bexley council holds second reading on LinkUs BRT stop at Pleasant Ridge as residents raise safety and parking concerns

BEXLEY, Ohio — The Bexley City Council on Tuesday held a second reading of a resolution formalizing support for the LinkUs bus rapid transit (BRT) route along Main Street and the planned median station west of Pleasant Ridge Avenue, with COTA staff laying out technical details and several residents raising safety and parking concerns.

Councilman Alex Silverman introduced the item as “the second reading of resolution 02-25 to support the LinkUs bus rapid transit route on Main Street, including the planned median station on Main Street west of Pleasant Ridge Avenue,” and then turned the presentation to city and transit staff for technical detail.

The presentation underscored COTA’s view that a Pleasant Ridge station would serve the walkable core of Bexley. Kim Sharp, COTA’s senior director of development, said East Main is a 13-mile corridor and “1 mile of that is within the city of Bexley.” Patrick Harris, COTA’s chief of external relations, noted ongoing regional planning and said LinkUs is intended to give residents “a much more regional transit” option as the area grows.

Megan Meyer, Bexley’s director of administration and development, reviewed local engagement and a two-week online survey the city had posted to gather feedback on the proposed location. Meyer told council that roughly three-quarters of the survey comments were generally supportive and that about 60% of respondents who addressed Pleasant Ridge specifically were supportive, with roughly 19% expressing concerns.

City and COTA staff addressed questions about traffic, station design and safety. Meyer said traffic patterns would not be changed by the center station and that “any turn that is currently illegal will stay illegal.” She described the station’s “bull nose” design and called the illustrated crossing “the most safe crosswalk that we have” in the immediate area. Sharp added that stations will include a sheltered platform, lighting, cameras and an emergency call box.

Residents who live or work adjacent to the proposed stop urged council to reconsider the location. Kathy Schroer, council president at Christ Lutheran Church, said the proposed station would sit “directly in front of our playground and our open lawn” and that the church’s preschool serves “103 children enrolled… open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.” Schroer said she had “no issues with the rapid transit, just the Pleasant Ridge position” and asked the council to consider the safety and parking impacts on the church’s daily operations.

Beverly Sapienza, a resident at 2729 Main Road, also told council she was “not opposed to the BRT, but I am very opposed to its location at Pleasant Ridge,” citing concerns about strangers clustering near the playground, the risk to small children, and potential use of a small adjoining church lot as informal park-and-ride parking.

Council members asked for additional details about the survey and outreach. Councilman Hurley asked whether the survey was still live and noted that the staff tallied only comments that explicitly favored or opposed; Meyer confirmed the survey remained open and that staff planned further targeted follow-up with owners and residents immediately adjacent to the proposed station. Councilman Ty Marcelino asked staff to keep the survey open longer to broaden response and to set a firm closing date.

COTA officials said the agency expects the underlying local route (line 2) to remain in place for five years after BRT opens, per federal guidance, but that local frequency will be adjusted over time. Sharp estimated construction of an individual center station would be on the scale of “about 4 months” of on-street work and said buses would run roughly every 15 minutes on the BRT corridor.

The resolution (02-25) was at second reading before council; no final vote was taken Tuesday. Staff pointed listeners to Bexley.org/LinkUs for background materials and to a scheduled public presentation and walkability talk by outside consultants the following evening.

The council meeting included two public commenters on the Matter of Pleasant Ridge (the Christ Lutheran Church representative and a resident). Council members said they will continue to receive and review survey comments and stakeholder follow-up before any final action.

Votes or formal actions on the resolution were not completed on April 22; the item remains under consideration at a later council meeting.