City looks at Franklin Street corridor

The ball is in the court of the city of Marietta now that the lower west side has organized its pedestrian-first safety requirements concerning the Franklin Street corridor.

The Franklin Street corridor spans nine blocks in Harmar, between Virginia Street (Ohio River) and Putnam Avenue.

The Franklin Corridor has been identified publicly by numerous residents over the last 3.5 years as a barrier to equitable access for residents in the low-to-moderate income area.

In a two-page letter to the Washington County Health Department's Creating Healthy Communities Coordinator and Marietta City Engineer Joe Tucker on Monday, community organizers outlined specific support for the writing of a state grant to remove those citizen-identified barriers.

The letter was submitted by CJ Smith, pedestrian safety lead coordinator, and Jackson Patterson, chairman, of Main Street West.

"Dear Mrs. Ellem," they wrote. "In 2020, neighbors consistently met as a team to analyze progress and address challenges concerning pedestrian safety in residential and commercial areas between Fort Harmar Drive and the two rivers. Member-directed communication on this topic has been ongoing since 2018."

Main Street West formed in the summer of 2018 as a lower west side branch of Marietta Main Street and launched with a community dinner at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Franklin Street in July of that year.

"Meeting minutes throughout 2020 consistently mark threats to safety of walkers and cyclists and show attendance of 20-50 residents," the letter continues. "From that citizen-driven input, we have outlined the necessary safety improvements for our neighborhood to no longer be split in half."

Dating back to 2018, residents, church parishioners and business partners in the residential neighborhood have identified impediments to walkability.

The neighborhood group saw early success in addressing those barriers to access by breaking the city's first record of citizen-driven requests for federal Community Development Block Grant funds in the 2018 request cycle.

Then-Development Director Andy Coleman called their requests a "poster child" for citizen engagement and saw the correction of what neighbors called "Lake Franklin."

"Currently, the thoroughfare of Franklin Street prevents safe crossing by children and the elderly due to the highway traffic from State Route 7 which is then dumped into the downtown," continued Smith and Patterson.

The corridor is one which Councilwoman Susan Boyer heard from residents is not only a speed concern but also one which parents teach their children not to cross over because of barriers at every intersection from Virginia to Putnam.

"In talking to people from the West Side … there was an indication that people deliberately don't, that pedestrians don't cross the street because of the high level of danger perceived in crossing that street," said Boyer during the last streets committee meeting, for which she serves as chairwoman. "My question is, how do we address the pedestrian issues at that intersection?"

Also in that last committee setting, TEC Engineering's Ed Williams confirmed for Boyer and Councilwoman Cassidi Shoaf that if the city continues with its plan to remove the stoplight at the intersection of Franklin and Market streets, it would be a city responsibility to pay for any improvements to the intersection concerning safety and visibility.

"The state of Ohio would pay for the removal as well as recommendations," Williams confirmed, 45 minutes and 19 seconds into the city council live broadcast that day.

Then Friday, Ellem met with Smith and Councilman Geoff Schenkel concerning additional state grant funds through the Ohio Department of Health to address other intersections impacted along the route. This included walking into traffic at Pearl and Franklin, an elderly driver stating "the city won't do anything about it anyway" and net the two-page letter to Ellem concerning a proposed $50,000 Creating Healthy Communities grant.

"Main Street West does not support the use of this potential grant to pay for any city safety obligation already outlined by TEC Engineering," read the letter, reiterating Williams' words and citing further discussions leading up to the January 2021 committee. "See the Tucker [and Mayor Josh] Schlicher visit with CJ Smith on Sept. 14, 2020; Traffic Commission meeting minutes Oct. 12, 2020; Marietta City Council Streets Committee meeting minutes & TEC Engineering exhibits Jan. 28, 2021."

What's next?

Marietta City Council is scheduled to discuss the fiber optics signal project which prompted the traffic signal removal study discussed on Jan. 28 at its Streets Committee meeting Thursday, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Schenkel, who serves on that committee, too, said he was proud of the residents of his ward speaking for themselves.

"They have studied this issue for years and that study shines through in their clear recognition of the systemic traffic issue in their neighborhood articulated very well in the attached document. The west side has come a very long way; functioning as a partner with local governments, helping to expand the funding possibilities for pedestrian safety improvements," he said in an email to council members, Law Director Paul Bertram, Mayor Josh Schlicher, Safety-Service Director Steve Wetz and Public Works Director Jim Wark.

Schenkel said he hoped to add the topic to Streets Committee discussions.

Read the full Main Street West letter here:

Interact with the Main Street West Right to Walk map here:

Page 2 of the Main Street West letter:

Janelle Patterson may be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com