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Residents urge Beavercreek council to halt Shaker Town Road widening, object to 10‑foot shared‑use path
Summary
Dozens of residents urged the council to cancel or scale back the Shaker Town Road improvement (ID 119964), saying traffic counts do not justify a three‑lane widening and that a proposed 10‑foot shared‑use path will remove trees, reduce property, and impose long‑term maintenance burdens on homeowners.
Beavercreek — An unusually large and lengthy citizen‑comment period at the May 26 council meeting focused on the Shaker Town Road improvement project (ID 119964), with many residents urging the council to stop or scale back the work and questioning traffic data, right‑of‑way outreach and the need for a 10‑foot shared‑use path.
Heather Harvey, who organized multiple residents, said engineers’ traffic counts differ from publicly available figures and that recent measurements show lower vehicle volumes than those used to justify the grant. "Traffic is not a problem on Shaker Town, and therefore, you gave the go ahead for the project that is absolutely not necessary," Harvey said during public comment.
Residents repeatedly objected to the proposed 10‑foot path, which several speakers characterized as a shared‑use path rather than a neighborhood sidewalk. "A 10‑foot concrete corridor in front of residential homes is visually intrusive and can be inconsistent with the surrounding area," said Laura Keller. Speakers said the path would require removing mature trees, place stormwater and grading work outside the existing right of way, and in many cases would push the pavement and path uncomfortably close to historic barns and long‑held front yards.
Many speakers also raised concerns about who will maintain the path long‑term and whether homeowners would be left with ongoing maintenance, snow removal and replacement costs. Councilmember Bales later clarified that, per the city's sidewalk policy, sidewalks up to 5 feet are homeowner responsibility but shared‑use paths larger than 5 feet are typically city‑funded, a distinction that only deepened residents' questions about design and cost allocation.
Other points raised: residents said recent speed studies showed instances of high speeds but argued the principal safety problems were isolated and not solved by widening; several listed property‑value and quality‑of‑life impacts and said some households may move because of the changes. One resident said unannounced appraisal contractors visited homes, raising questions about outreach and notification.
City staff and engineers were not the focus of extended responses during that segment of the meeting; many speakers said they had repeatedly tried to engage engineering staff, sought ODOT record confirmation, and asked for a no‑build option to be considered.
Why it matters: The Shaker Town Road project would change the roadway geometry for roughly two‑thirds of a mile and would require right‑of‑way work affecting more than 30 properties and two churches, according to public comments. Large shared‑use paths and lane changes can materially alter residential frontages, mature trees, driveway access, and long‑term maintenance responsibilities.
What’s next: Residents asked the council to pause or cancel the project and to provide clearer documentation on traffic counts, ODOT outreach compliance, property impacts and compensation for permanent reductions in private property. Councilmembers acknowledged the volume of public concern and said they would consider next steps; no final council action on the Shaker Town Road project was taken at the meeting.
