Fulton Road Bridge Project Update
There are a few things happening on this front and I thought it was time to bring everyone up-to-date on what I know.
!. Councilman Cummins had a meeting with the County Engineer’s office and has a drawing of the final plans for the bridge. I am sure that it is on display in his Ward 15 Office. He is also continuing to ask for answers from the city to the questions we have.
2. There is a new blogspot up and running called Save Our Land. Stop by and leave a comment or sign up to become a ocntributor.
3. A new website www.SaveOurLAnd.net is under construction and should be up and running in a few days. The scope of the website will be more comprehensive than the Save Our Land blogspot.
4. Faxed letters were sent to our area Congresspeople and Senators. One contact was made by phone when asking for the fax number–Steve LaTourette’s office said please send the fax and they would look into it. Senator DeWine’s office contacted the Save Our Land group and expressed an interest in also looking into the project. As many of you already know, Congressman Kucinich’s staff were in our neighborhood with a survey collecting their own data concerning the project.
And those points bring me to the GREEN RIBBON BRIGADE. You may have noticed green ribbons tied to the trees along the Fulton Road Bridge or on tree lawns or in neighbors’ front lawns. One of our neighbors suggested that we tie green ribbons to our trees to show support of our neighbors who are in jeopardy of losing land to the project but also to let everyone know that unanswered questions remain.
Those unanswered questions include but are not limited to:
Why will public access by limited to foot and bicycle traffic? No vehicular traffic from this side of the bridge. This also affects our neighbors on the south side of the bridge.
Was the historic significance of the bridge and the Historic ballfield and neighborhood properly considered? This bridge is the last of its kind in the United States. When it is gone, it is gone forever.
Were traffic patterns adequately explored? During the time the bridge is closed, the ODOT Innerbelt bridge project will be underway, the Quigley Road Connector, the Jennings Road Project, the paving of Denison Avenue, the opening of Steelyard Commons will all take place during the three years the bridge is closed.
How will the bridge closing affect the impending loss of Ladder 42? What will the emergency response times be for people living south of the Bridge who need the services of the 2nd District Police or EMS vehicles to reach the MetroHelath campus?
What are the economic impacts to the businesses south of the bridge that have already endured the Memphis Road Project?
So the questions that remain unanswered are many and are of a farreaching nature. Granted, we all agree that we need to have that bridge repaired or replaced but remember folks we will be living with the outcome of this project not the ODOT officials that are driving this process. And again was this a proper public process?
If you would like green ribbons for your trees, please let us know and we will see that you will get them or better yet, if you have access to getting your own ribbons, please do.