The construction of a new shopping center on South Main Street in Granville continues a steady flow of new businesses to one of the main entrances to the village – and the potential for a lot more foot traffic along the busy street.
The Mill District shopping center under construction between the Granville Township Fire Station and the Cedar & Thread store comes after the arrival of Station Cafe, Harvest Pizzeria and OneLove Cafe and Bike Shop – not to mention the businesses in the River Road complex, including River Road Coffeehouse, Joe & Mimi’s Pizzeria and Palumbo’s Italian Market.
All of them draw customers, including many Denison University students, who sometimes walk or ride bicycles along South Main from elsewhere in town.
Along with that foot and bike traffic comes the potential for danger – as Granville High School graduates Wyatt Malishenko and Truman Kennedy witnessed when they conducted a traffic study in the South Main Street corridor this summer and saw big trucks that were unable to slow or stop for pedestrians in the T.J. Evans Trail crosswalk.
Malishenko and Kennedy, who are each studying urban planning at Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati respectively, both had internships in the Granville Village Planning Office this summer, and they worked together to study the interaction between pedestrians and vehicles in the South Main corridor.
What they witnessed was sometimes frightening, according to a report and series of recommendations they presented to the village council on Aug. 7.
They found the following challenges to safe travel, especially for pedestrians:
• The pedestrian crosswalk markings across South Main Street at Elm Street and at the T.J. Evans Trail crossing near Station Cafe are “ineffective.” They are “described by ODOT as ‘outdated’ and needing Improvements.”
• Many pedestrians and cyclists chronically ignore the button to light warning to motorists before crossing Main Street on the bike path.
• The speeds are high, as is the volume of traffic on South Main Street.
• Southbound trucks are sometimes unable to slow down or stop while traveling downhill.
• There is a significant lack of pedestrian crossing infrastructure on South Main Street at the Elm Street intersection.
“One of the things that came from the study is where the 35 mph speed limit started and stopped on South Main,” said Village Manager Herb Koehler, noting that the change from 25 mph in the heart of the village to 35 mph occurred before the intersection with the bike path – encouraging southbound motorists to speed up just before encountering pedestrians and bicyclists.
“We don’t dictate speed limits on a state route,” Koehler said. The Ohio Department of Transportation “handles that. But because of this project and their outreach to ODOT, they got the sign moved 100 meters to the south.”
That means southbound motorists coming down the hill from downtown Granville can’t legally speed up until after they pass the bike path.
Malishenko and Kennedy found that a pedestrian was killed in 1999 while crossing South Main at Elm and that speed limits in Granville have not undergone a comprehensive review since 1976.
“As pedestrian traffic along South Main Street increases, the threat of another tragedy only increases unless the risks are mitigated,” the two wrote in their final report to the village council.
Malishenko and Kennedy made the following recommendations based on their study and consultation with ODOT and village officials:
• Establish a consistent speed limit along South Main Street.
• Work with ODOT on strategies to increase visibility for crosswalks at Elm Street and the bike path.
• Improve speed enforcement along South Main Street.
• Study ways to improve traffic patterns at South Main and Elm – possibly allowing only right turns from Elm onto Main.
• Study speed limits across the village and consider lower speed limits.
• Launch a “Slow Roads Save Lives” campaign to educate motorists on the need to go slow in town.
• Initiate a large-scale study of pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the village.
Koehler said he appreciates the work done by the interns and that village officials will consider the recommendations as they look for ways to improve walkability and safety in the South Main Street corridor.
Alan Miller writes for write for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.