According to estimates, the Columbus population will grow by a million people by the year 2050.
Central Ohio transportation experts are planning for that growth with a year-long study. Mike Foley has details.
The City of Columbus, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, Central Ohio Transit Authority, Columbus District Council of the Urban Land Institute, and the Columbus Partnership are among those coming together for the analysis of five regional corridors. The study area stretches from downtown Columbus to the following directions: Northeast to Polaris Parkway, East Main Street to State Route 256, Southeast to Rickenbacker, Northwest to US Route 33-Post Road-and Frantz Road, and West Broad Street to Norton Road. MORPC executive director William Murdock.
“We wanted corridors that touched each different part of the region. Each one is unique with different demographics, different possibilities and different development potential. We wanted to make sure we looked at important corridors in our plans already, but also different parts of the region and different communities. This is a study we want to underlay with objective, technical information. We’re going to do a deep dive into the land use of what’s there, the infrastructure and transportation that’s there, and then look at the possibilities for each corridor. The solutions or options for each one could be very different, but that’s what we want to do…make sure that we’re looking at it very objectively and then getting a good amount of public and business feedback of what really makes sense when they can see the options.”
Murdock says it’s also an opportunity to explore high capacity transportation options. The study’s expected to take a full year to complete.
