From: Jack Head
Columbus
As a resident of the Lowell Road and State Road 31 area, I was happy to hear that the city had plans to improve West Lowell Road. I have attended a number of recent planning commission meetings, during which Jeff Berman, the planning director, reminded residents/voters in the Lowell Road/U.S. 31 area that we enjoyed the same amenities as the rest of Columbus.
With that, we anticipated some improvements to Lowell Road that would benefit us, like a bike lane. We realized that the bike lane wouldn’t be connected to the city‘s interconnected bike paths for various (planning commission) reasons. Well, the Columbus Board of Works and Public Safety did complete some work on the road but didn’t add the bike lane. So much for treating us like the rest of the city.
The mayor called this connection from State Road 46 to U.S. 31 the “back way,” but we now understand the purpose of the work was to give those who live on the west side of town a way of bypassing the railroad crossing on State Road 46, therefore giving them a highway to travel on as they fly by our communities.
If the city does want to improve the roads for us in the Lowell Road and U.S. 31 area, they could work with the state and build a roundabout for the seven roads that intersect in the two exchanges. Our safety is challenged daily at these exchanges, and with the new Lowell Road improvements/west side traffic increase it must be addressed. Build a roundabout for:
- U.S. 31 south from Taylorville
- Lowell Road west
- U.S. 31 south to Columbus
- U.S. 31 north from Columbus
- Lowell Road east
- U.S. 31 north to Taylorsville
There is land north of the cemetery to make this a safer area.
