Frank Lewis
PDT Staff Writer
The request by Shawnee State University to have the city close Third Street from Gay Street east to Waller Street will come up again this Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. during a meeting of the city’s Traffic Committee. The meeting will be held in the Engineering Department on the second floor of the municipal building.
The university says closing of the street would allow for continued growth of the university, accommodate a cohesive living-learning campus environment for the students and improve the safety for the 1,000 students living in university housing.
The request is based on what the university says is their recent and planned growth, the need to maximize limited space as outlined in the University’s 2007 Master Facilities Plan that was developed with members of the community and city government officials and traffic studies conducted in 2009 and 2012 by an independent traffic engineering consultant.
The first time the item came before City Council, on Dec. 13, 2010, it was defeated by a 3-3 vote. First Ward Councilman Kevin Johnson said the main concerns at that time were traffic flow being pushed up to Fourth and Gallia streets and how that change in traffic would impact the high school, two elementary schools and the Portsmouth Public Library. Another concern is the disruption of traffic from the residential east end into the city and the inability of the city to afford the upgrades to Fourth Street necessary for the increased traffic.
Johnson said the Social Security Administration’s office on Fourth Street was most concerned for the unresolved impact on its clients.
The Traffic Committee meetings are open to the public.
Frank Lewis may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 252, or at flewis@heartlandpublications.com
They've even hire a couple of new high powered exec's for that.
Also, unless they've revised their 2007 Master Plan, it said not to go to Chillicothe St. nor beyond 4th. St. except a green way to go north to the High School Campus with 3rd. St. to remain a public street. They've violated the hell out of that with have 2 or 3 departments renting space outside those boundaries.
Also, 3rd. street was designed to become a T-intersection with Gay St. when "they" design and build the completed "S" curve coming from the bridge on up Gay St. Look at the first half already built from the bridge to 3rd. St.
SO what's with all that, detail and contradictory information?
If they close 3rd. street it will become like a drive way and the SSU Police force will have total control?
At Waller, there will have to be a Cul-de-Sac or a "flow" curve onto Waller for the 3rd. St. Westbound traffic? And all that traffic will go onto 4th. passed the elementary school and businesses with office traffic?
Will the committee look at all that or rubber stamp it like the rest of the City Government? No pepprkorn, et al can't be there, quit that long ago, they are deaf and dumb.
Doing this will be even less of a reason for the Students, faculty, staff and employees to go off campus to shop, even for lunch and breakfast. By the way, SSU is a commuter university......
Johnson's concerns still exist, but since he wants to be City Manager like Haas wants to be City Solicitor will Johnson speak up at the Traffic Committee meeting so they will have the benefit of those concerns or will they approve it on to council without such considerations?
So, what gives Frank? Will they review these superb citizens' posting on the PDT's pages?