Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

COUNCILMEN NO LONGER SUPPORT DILEY ROAD PROJECT
Published: Thursday, September 2, 2004
NEWS 08C
By Kirk D. Richards
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Though they have supported expanding Diley Road in the past, longtime
Pickerington Councilmen Doug Parker and William Wright are now voting to
hold off.
Newer members of the council say the two are playing politics and have
withdrawn support to thwart their opponents.
But Parker and Wright say it's a matter of properly compensating people who
will lose their land in the expansion.
Wright also wants to explore whether it would be better to expand Diley to
three lanes instead of the five being proposed.
In two recent readings on the proposed project that would allow Pickerington
to seek state funding, the majority of four approved. But Parker abstained
and Councilman Mike Sabatino joined Wright in voting no.
The final vote is Tuesday.
''I'm disappointed that people who approved of it all along are now turning
their back on it,'' said first-term Councilman Ted Hackworth. ''We need to
provide adequate roads and this is one of our main ways to get in and out of
Pickerington.''
Hackworth swept into office last year on a wave of slow-growth sentiment
along with council President Heidi Riggs and member Brian Wisniewski.
The team appointed an ally, Mitch O'Brien, to replace David Shaver, who left
the council after being elected mayor in November.
Wright, who remembers when his votes were typically supported by the council
majority -- often against Shaver -- now finds himself on the outs along with
Parker.
''They always vote the exact same,'' Wright said of the new majority. ''What
I've noticed is, if the mayor wants a vote to go a certain way, that's how
it goes.''
Sabatino also tends to vote against the new majority.
''What the mayor needs to understand is that this isn't Shaverville,''
Sabatino said.
Hackworth said he has received many positive comments from residents about
expanding Diley as a way to ease the traffic in town, often blamed on the
population boom caused by the construction of homes.
Wright, however, expressed concern that five lanes are being pushed because
that is what the Ohio Department of Transportation wants in order to provide
funding.
The expansion would cost about $13 million, and the city will cover about 20
percent if funding is approved through the Mid Ohio Regional Planning
Commission, which would include ODOT dollars.
While the debate rages, some residents who live on Diley are ready to move.
Amy Green wants the city to buy her Diley Road home. She has received no
offer. Ultimately, she blames politics.
''The new council feels that the old council is the problem,'' Green said.
''They're pretty split right now.''
krichards@dispatch.com

By Just not getting it

Billy Boy.....

So how much luck are Parker and Wright having in thwarting their opponents? Not a lot it looks like. As to properly compensating people who are losing their land I ask - How interested were you two boobs when this issue came up originally and it was passed 7-0? You didn?’t seem interested in compensation the, why now? What?’s in it for you?

Billy boy, you know the math on 5 lanes versus 3 lanes. Don?’t even insult our intelligence in questioning it now.

Also Billy Boy, how does it feel to see the other side? You say that you remember when your votes were typically supported by the majority of council. How does it feel to go through what those who sought change in the past had to go through? How does it feel to be deemed insignificant? How does it feel to be irrelevant? How does it feel to NOT MATTER and know you will never again?

Have you really asked yourself why ?“they always vote the same?”? Could it be that you are wrong? How about all the years we had to sit by and watch the 7-0 votes, or after Riggs and Shaver got on council the 5-2, 5-2, 5-2 ad nauseum? How does it feel?

Times are a-changing Billy Boy. Certainly you and your pals get that, right?

Don?’t think that we have forgotten about you too Mr. ?“Rest of the Story in Pickerington Sabatino?”. Didn?’t you have anything as dim-witted as your friends to say for this article?


By Just not getting it

Alzheimer's on Council

Diley Road will have five lanes
Pickerington council approves controversial widening plan

By TAMARIA L. KULEMEKA, tkulemeka@nncogannett.com
The Eagle-Gazette Staff


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





PICKERINGTON -- Diley Road residents didn't line up to speak at the podium -- as they have in the past -- during the City Council meeting Tuesday.

Instead, some of the residents sat quietly as council members voted 4-2 to pass a resolution confirming a plan to widen Diley Road to five lanes.

''We're just fed up,'' Diley Road resident Amy Green said following the meeting. ''At the beginning of this the mayor said 'someone's ox would be gored.' We should've known his sensitivity then. ... We just hope the city will do the right thing and buy our property.''

John Darby was the lone Diley Road resident who approached the podium.

''We believe the precedent has been set with the purchase of homes already and feel many homeowners will want the same thing,'' Darby said. ''(With five lanes) we think there will be no more violets in Pickerington. It will be called the concrete jungle.''

The plan will shift the original design for widening the road to the west. That would allow more of the road to be built on land that is currently undeveloped and lessen the effect of the widening on developed properties, said Kevin Grathwol of Stilson Consulting, the city's engineering firm.

The plan includes a multi-use trail, a raised median, trees and landscaping. In addition, the speed limit would be 35 miles per hour. The city will need to coordinate the speed limit with Violet Township.

Grathwol said he received word from the Ohio Department of Transportation concerning the plan.

''They're agreeable to it,'' he said. ''There's a few issues with the final design, but that's in the final design (stage).''

Councilmen Michael Sabatino and William Wright voted against the resolution. Councilman Doug Parker abstained.

Wright said Diley Road was never designated to be five lanes.

''The city has always planned for three lanes,'' Wright said. ''The city has never accepted a five-lane designation until this ordinance tonight. The city doesn't need five lanes. I am positive that the city has made a mistake.''

Councilman Mitch O'Brien said the widening of Diley Road to five lanes was voted upon and passed unanimously on Nov. 4, 2003.

''After our last meeting, it was reported in the press that we had voted to widen Diley Road to five lanes,'' O'Brien said. ''This information is not accurate. Never once since I have been on council has there been an ordinance or resolution come before us for a vote that stated anything about widening any road to five lanes.

''What I do remember is that this council voted to declare an alignment preference for Diley Road.''

During his presentation, Grathwol said Diley Road was identified as a five-lane thoroughfare in 2001.

ODOT projects that 24,000 cars will travel Diley Road by 2028. Because of traffic counts, ODOT will only give the city funding for a five-lane highway. Presently, the project is estimated to cost $14 million, of which the city must pay $2.8 million.

Originally published Wednesday, September 8, 2004





By Memory bank

Alzheimer's continued

The city needs to widen Diley Road because of growth, said Councilman Ted Hackworth.

''Growth is killing us,'' Hackworth said. ''In the short term, this road will not make everyone happy. The longer we all wait, the bigger the problem that we will all face later. In the long term, we must find ways to slow our growth rates and to be able to involve our citizens with each step of the process.''

Parker said the city should find ways to compensate residents along Diley Road.

''We've heard comments from residents and I hope we can go after any grant money or reach into the magical government hat because they deserve it and we should do what we can to help them,'' Parker said. ''Mayor, if it was our property and our homes, we'd be doing the same thing these people are doing.''

After design plans are finalized, the right-of-way acquisition phase will begin, Grathwol said.

Originally published Wednesday, September 8, 2004



By Memory Bank