5.26.10
Council to get 'big and bold' Downtown plan
By: Robert Vitale - www.Dispatch.com
A dream-big Downtown plan that would remake Broad and High streets and change the course of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers will go before the Columbus City Council by late July.

The final version presented tonight to city officials also includes a call for new housing near COSI-Columbus in Franklinton, in the southeast corner of Downtown where I-71 joins with I-70, and around Deaf School Park behind the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

"We could rebuild Downtown in a way that hasn't been considered since the 1908 plan," said consultant Keith Myers, referring to a century-old set of proposals that included more city parks, more public art and a grand civic plaza that stretched from 4th Street to the Scioto's west bank.

That plan was never fully realized, and city officials said the new one will require much more study to determine the feasibility - and most importantly, cost - of its big ideas.

Mayor Michael B. Coleman called the plan "big and bold" and added: "We shouldn't be afraid of big and bold."

But he also said the same thing that's bound to be on the minds of Columbus taxpayers.

"It looks expensive."

The plan already has been endorsed by the Columbus Downtown Development Corp., the private, nonprofit agency created by city government in 2002 to oversee the last Downtown plan.

It will go before the Downtown Commission in June and then to the City Council for final approval.

"These 12 ideas are designed to inspire Columbus to think big," said Councilman Andrew J. Ginther, who chairs the council's economic-development committee.

Myers, whose MSI Design firm was hired by the Downtown development agency to write the new plan, said the suggestions for Broad Street, High Street and the rivers generated the biggest amount of more than 1,100 comments submitted during four months of public dialogue.

Broad Street, as wide as Rt.315 but with the same amount of traffic as Indianola Avenue, would be narrowed from eight to five lanes if the city would move forward with MSI's idea.

New walkways and bike paths would be created from today's outer lanes. Grassy, tree-lined medians would separate them from traffic.

The street was configured that way about a century ago, Myers said.

On High Street, Downtown bus stops would be moved and on-street parking allowed once again. Myers said he thinks the current setup contributed to the decline of retail on Columbus' commercial spine.

"We have buses that own the curb lanes," he said. "If you get on High Street at the wrong time of day it's like strapping yourself into a ride at Cedar Point. You're not getting off until you get to Nationwide Boulevard."

Coleman called MSI's recommendation to create 16.5 miles of new riverfront parkland by removing seven small dams from the Olentangy and Scioto rivers a "great, great idea."

Myers said the dams no longer serve a purpose but have long posed a safety hazard. He acknowledged the complexity of the plan, though, and said it could be accomplished in phases.

Department of Public Utilities officials have estimated the cost of dam removal at $60 million or more. Others at City Hall have dismissed the idea as "out there."

Coleman said it's among those he wants to study further.

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