LEBANON -- On some Friday afternoons, walking a block in historic downtown is quicker than driving.
With thousands of cars inching along the roadways, Broadway and Main Street "might as well be Hollywood and Vine," said Gerald Miller, an antiques store owner who moved back to Lebanon after 34 years in Los Angeles in January 1997. "The traffic is ridiculous." And it's not expected to get any better.
Lebanon's population has jumped from 10,453, in 1990 to an estimated 13,700 this year. By 2010, the population is expected to reach 17,400.
Although traffic congestion is an obvious result, population growth also affects other city services, including the court system and maintenance of sewers and streets.
Part of Lebanon's growth can be attributed to the fact it is shoehorned between Interstates 71 and 75, making it an ideal home base for commuters and an easy shortcut for surrounding residents.
"People use Lebanon as a crossroads," City Manager Richard Hayward said. "That creates a lot of traffic. We're trying to solve some of the problems now."
SURGING POPULATION
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It took nearly 60 years for Lebanon's population to double from the 1900 Census total. But since 1960, the city has more than doubled in just 38 years.
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| 1900 | 2,967 |
| 1910 | 2,698 |
| 1920 | 3,396 |
| 1930 | 3,222 |
| 1940 | 3,890 |
| 1950 | 4,618 |
| 1960 | 5,993 |
| 1970 | 7,934 |
| 1980 | 9,636 |
| 1990 | 10,453 |
| 1998 | 13,700 |
Source: U.S. Census,
Ohio Department of Development
(1998 estimated) |
Many of the area roads were designed to handle 6,000 to 9,000 cars a day, he said. Last year, the tally on Main Street was about 23,000 cars a day. The city hopes to erect barriers or speed bumps in residential areas to slow speeders.
Mr. Hayward said he supports a proposal by Warren County Engineer Neil Tunison to build an Ohio 63 bypass connecting I-75 to I-71, which would draw truck traffic from the city's main streets. But any action on a bypass, which, in its infancy, already has attracted a great deal of controversy, is years away.
The Lebanon Police Department has tried to help with traffic flow, but the department of 24 officers is being pulled like Silly Putty by the increased demand for service.
Calls to the department soared from 12,187 in 1992 to 20,070 five years later, Assistant Chief Bob Hawley said.
Lebanon Dispatcher Cathy Gearhart said the impact of the increased population is most apparent during emergencies. During fires or serious accidents, other calls still have to be answered, she said. And after hours, the dispatchers answer the phones for other city departments.
So when the electricity goes, a water main breaks or a tree falls, the first line of defense is the police department.
At some point, the department will have to cut some of the perks of a small-town force, Mr. Hawley said. For now, the department still takes requests from vacationing residents to keep an eye on their homes. And officers responded to 1,006 complaints in 1997 about keys locked inside vehicles.
Eventually, "it will have to become like a menu effect," Chief Ken Burns said. "We'll have to start picking what we want because you can't have everything on the menu."
The impact of the burgeoning population also is felt at the next step of the judicial process -- the Lebanon Municipal Court. Although traffic violations have remained relatively constant in the past decade, misdemeanor cases have doubled, up to 1,085.
At the same time, the number of felony cases arraigned in the court increased from 111 in 1987 to 169 in 1997, Court Clerk Brenda Morgan said.
To compound the problem, new state laws in domestic violence, victims' rights and drunken-driving cases have created more involved, time-consuming paperwork, Mrs. Morgan said. The addition of two employees since 1979 hasn't been enough to compensate for the office's increased workload, she said.
"It puts a strain on the department," she said. "We still have deadlines. We have to get the work done. There's not really any option."
More roads, sewers
As demands for city services increase, "the amount we do per employee has increased," Mr. Hayward said.
Employees in the street and sewer departments have 25 more miles to maintain. Still, the street, building maintenance and auto repair staff has increased by just one, bringing the total to 11, said William Marshall, deputy director of public works.
The traffic congestion is so bad "it takes a big part of our day now just watching out to make sure you don't get run over," Mr. Marshall said.
The department is able to keep up with routine maintenance but is contracting out bigger jobs because "we don't have the time or manpower," he said.
Also, the increased workload means "the little fringe things we used to do for the citizens have had to go by the wayside," Mr. Marshall said. For instance, the crew doesn't have time to hand-sweep curbs and parking lots as they once did, he said. But he hasn't gotten too many complaints.
Invalid rule "The type of resident moving in to Lebanon has changed," Mr. Marshall said. "We've gotten more of a younger generation who maybe were from different communities and not used to some of the little, small things we used to do for citizens."
