WHEREAS, the following roadway improvement project is currently scheduled for construction in 2017 or 2018 as a joint project between the cities of Oakwood and Kettering:
Shroyer Road Improvement Project (ODOT PID No. 97897) – Improvements from East Stroop Road in the city of Kettering to the North Corporate Line of the city of Oakwood (Joint application with the city of Kettering);
and
WHEREAS, as originally proposed, the portion of said project within the city of Oakwood consists of maintenance, repair and resurfacing of the existing pavement cross-section of Shroyer Road; and
WHEREAS, consistent with longstanding goals and objectives in the city’s 2004 Comprehensive Plan, and in response to citizen concerns expressed in 2015 about roadway and pedestrian safety along Shroyer Road, the city commissioned CMT Engineers to conduct a traffic safety study of the Shroyer Road corridor (the “Shroyer Road Safety Study”); and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Shroyer Road Safety Study was to investigate possible countermeasures to improve safety along Shroyer Road, supported by an analysis of, among other things, the patterns and volumes of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and the historical number and nature of traffic accidents; and
WHEREAS, a proposed countermeasure set forth in the Shroyer Road Safety Study, commonly referred to in the traffic engineering field as a Road Diet, would involve the construction of raised center medians and restriping along Shroyer Road from the city’s South Corporate Line to its North Corporate Line, thereby reconfiguring the typical cross-section of Shroyer Road in the city of Oakwood from four lanes to three, with single through lanes in each direction, protected left turn lanes at intersections, bicycle lanes in both directions, and two mid-block crosswalks; and
WHEREAS, members of Council, city staff, and CMT traffic engineer Scott Knebel, P.E., conducted public meetings on February 23 and on March 3, 2016 to explain the findings of the safety study and to engage in a public dialogue about how the proposed Road Diet would impact users of the Shroyer Road corridor; and
WHEREAS, approximately 50 Oakwood residents and other users of Shroyer Road attended and participated in those public meetings; and
WHEREAS, many attendees at both meetings acknowledged that lowering the speed limit and/or installing mid-block crosswalks alone would not be as effective as the proposed Road Diet proposal; and
WHEREAS, at the April 4, 2016 Council meeting, the City Manager and Scott Knebel, P.E., made a formal presentation of the Road Diet proposal to Council, and Council opened the floor for public comment on the same; and
WHEREAS, Council recognizes that the proposal has pros and cons, but believes that the public safety benefits outweigh the cons; and
WHEREAS, Council views the Shroyer Road corridor as a residential area that in its current configuration does not provide an environment friendly to pedestrians and cyclists; and
WHEREAS, given the nature and number of traffic accidents along the Shroyer Road corridor, Council believes that measures are warranted that would have a traffic calming effect and slow the movement of vehicles and reduce the frequency of vehicle lane changes; and