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Residents urge Bexley to press Columbus on Cassidy–Fifth Avenue design over pedestrian safety concerns
Summary
Two residents asked Bexley City Council on Jan. 28 to press Columbus to change a planned widening of Cassidy and Fifth Avenues, saying larger turn radii and extra lanes would increase crosswalk distances and risk for pedestrians near a newly purchased school site.
Two residents used the Jan. 28 public-comment period to ask Bexley officials to press the City of Columbus on traffic-safety designs for the Cassidy and Fifth Avenue intersection, saying planned widening would lengthen crosswalks and increase risk for pedestrians, cyclists and students headed to a newly acquired school site.
Virginia “Ginger” Tornas told council the Columbus plan would “dramatically increase crossing distances, jeopardizing the safety of those on foot, wheelchair or bicycle” and flagged a specific design change she said would raise curb turning radii from a recommended 22 feet to 68.5 feet. Tornas cited guidance from the National Association of City Transportation Officials and other research in the remarks she provided to council and asked Bexley to work with Columbus to abandon the planned widening.
“Widening Cassidy and Fifth Avenues and increasing curb radii will dramatically increase crossing distances,” Tornas said, and she told council she had included citations from NACTO, the Institute of Traffic Engineers and Johns Hopkins research in an email to the mayor and council.
Resident Carl Hoffman (appearing as Carl Holtman in the speaker record) told council his property in North Bexley gives him standing and urged officials to pursue pedestrian safety measures, saying heavier foot traffic is likely if the Bexley school district develops its newly purchased site near Cassidy and Sixth Avenue. Hoffman suggested a pedestrian overpass above Fifth Avenue as a possible long-term solution to separate school pedestrian flows from vehicle turning movements.
Mayor Ben Kessler told residents that Bexley does not control Columbus projects and said he had checked with Columbus, which was in the process of awarding the bid for the federally funded project. “This is a federal fund project… once it goes through that engineering design phase and it's going to bid and it gets awarded, it is fairly set stone,” Kessler said, adding the city will remain engaged with the schools and look at potential bicycle and pedestrian connections to the site.
Kessler and staff said Bexley has discussed multiuse-path connection options and would continue to coordinate with Columbus and the school district to seek ways to enhance pedestrian safety and connect existing bike/ped facilities to the school site. The mayor asked residents to send additional information and documents to the city; Tornas said she had emailed her materials to the mayor and council.
