Council advances multimodal planning and safety projects on Livingston and McNotton corridors

Columbus City Council on Tuesday advanced several transportation measures focused on safety, multimodal planning and vision-zero priorities.

The council approved Ordinance 0448-2026 to amend the 2026 capital improvement budget and authorize contract modifications to complete the Livingston Avenue project (Alum Creek Trail to James Road). Officials said work will include a shared-use path, improved signals, enhanced street lighting and physical separation to improve safety for people walking and biking along a high-injury corridor. Council indicated the project is in partnership with the neighboring city of Bexley.

Council also passed Ordinance 0628-2026, authorizing the Department of Public Service to execute a professional-services agreement (up to $300,000) with Bergus Kniple Inc. to carry out multimodal engagement, corridor analysis and preliminary design for several corridors citywide. The work includes traffic and parking analysis, bikeway planning, transit considerations, placemaking and quick-build pilot projects.

For McNotton Road — a technically challenging corridor with drainage and geometry constraints — council approved Ordinance 0712-2026 to add funds for detailed design for a bikeway segment between Main Street and Broad Street and to build a shared-use path and sidewalk connections. Department staff and the chair noted the project responds in part to the death of an 11-year-old child, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Robertson Rutland, at the corridor years earlier and described a multi-phase schedule: land acquisition planned in 2026–27, construction beginning in 2028 and phased completion through around 2031. The ordinance authorizes an additional $2.9 million for design work as part of an estimated $11.5 million total project.

Council members emphasized that these projects were part of a long-term push to make busy arterials safer for people walking, biking and using transit, and that the engineering work and public engagement funded by the multimodal contract would help inform later construction-stage decisions.

The measures passed with committee sponsorship and roll-call votes as recorded in the council minutes. Department staff noted some corridors are technically difficult and will require phased work, property acquisitions and coordination with transit and adjacent municipalities.

Next steps include contract modifications with the selected firms, continued public outreach under the multimodal planning work, and follow-on construction funding decisions in future capital budgets.