The Route 23 Connect study area.
Courtesy | ODOT
Last fall, the public got a chance to comment on the U.S. Route 23 Connect Delaware Regional Connection Study by using a location-specific map of the corridor from Waldo to Columbus. The results are now in.
From November 2022 to January 2023, a total of 572 comments were added to the map, said a recent email to The Gazette. The email was sent on behalf of the Ohio Department of Transportation by North Carolina-based PublicInput.
Congestion south of the city of Delaware was the leading concern, such as the number of access points, the number of traffic signals, and the coordination of those traffic signals.
Safety was another concern north of the city of Delaware. Dangerous intersections, drivers not obeying signs or signals or medians, inconsistent yet high speed limits, and visibility were among the problems listed.
Improvements were suggested by many of the respondents. Access management, using frontage roads and improving signal coordination were among them, as well as improving alternative forms of transportation like biking, mass transit and walking.
A document called the Public Comment Map Summary divides the Route 23 corridor into seven segments, starting from Interstate 270:
• I-270 to Olentangy Meadows Drive
• Green Meadows Drive to Orange Road
• Orange Point Drive to Olentangy Crossing
• Hyatts Road/Shanahan Road to Pollock Road
• State Route 315 to U.S. Route 42
• Pennsylvania Avenue to Coover Road
• Main Road to state Route 229
The most-discussed area was the area around Orange Road and Powell Road (state Route 750), or segment two, with 102 comments.
The city of Delaware, between segments five and six, had 49 specific comments, notably regarding Central Avenue (state Route 37) and William Street (U.S. Route 36).
Each segment was broken into separate maps in the summary, showing specific places those surveyed identified congestion and safety issues, and where improvements were needed. The map legends also showed where planned developments would be. Each of the seven segments had at least one development.
These comments will be taken into account by the project team, the email said. There will also be more public meetings held this summer before a draft plan is developed.
Route 23 Connect is in Phase B of the study.
“The cost, complexity, and environmental impact of the concepts presented in Phase A were too high to pursue further so the study is shifting its focus toward identifying smaller-scale improvements,” the Route 23 Connect website said.
For more information, visit www.publicinput.com/23connect.
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].
