Canton council delays downtown master plan after debate over East Main Street "road diet"

The City of Canton council voted Dec. 19 to table action on a proposed downtown master plan until the council——s Jan. 16 meeting after debate centered on a recommended East Main Street "road diet."

The master plan, developed with consultant Modern Mobility and recommended by the Downtown Development Authority, lays out a series of traffic, pedestrian and streetscape projects for downtown Canton. Councilmember Jason Roach and several downtown stakeholders urged removing a proposed project (DMP ID 19, page 40 of the draft master plan) that would reduce eastbound East Main Street from two lanes to one lane for part of downtown, citing delivery access, emergency access and business impacts.

Planner Rachel Watson, who presented the plan, said the road-diet recommendation originated from multiple public-input sessions and engineering analysis and was intended to improve pedestrian safety where delivery trucks and parked vehicles force pedestrians into traffic. Watson told council the proposal reflected feedback received during public outreach and that the team could return with an assessment of the effects of removing that single project.

City Manager Mark Peppers and staff warned that removing a single project could affect other projects in the plan because some items were listed based on completing the network of improvements. Peppers and consultant staff also described the master plan as a "living document" that guides future investments but does not itself authorize construction.

Council discussion focused on whether to adopt the plan as drafted or remove the road-diet language now to ease stakeholder concerns. Council members expressed differing views: some said striking the language would calm downtown property owners and allow the rest of the plan to proceed; others said removing the recommendation would require the consultants to re-evaluate interdependent projects and could increase costs and delay implementation.

After discussion, the council approved a motion to postpone final approval of the downtown master plan until the Jan. 16 meeting, when staff expects to report back with consultant input on the specific traffic change and its impacts. The motion carried; the council recorded the item as tabled to Jan. 16, 2025.

The council and staff emphasized that tabling does not preclude future consideration of East Main Street changes. Any actual road reconfiguration, traffic design or construction would require separate council approval, funding and, where applicable, additional public engagement.

Background: Modern Mobility and the Downtown Development Authority led the planning process over the last year. The plan includes a range of projects intended to improve pedestrian safety, support local businesses and guide public investments in streetscape and parking.

What's next: Staff said it will ask Modern Mobility to provide a targeted analysis of how removing DMP ID 19 would affect the rest of the plan and to estimate time and cost for any redrafting; staff expects to report at the council's Jan. 16 meeting.