BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UNION TOWNSHIP -- A plan to ease traffic flow in the congested Eastgate area will be presented to residents today, but it could be years before the first car uses it.
Clermont County Engineer Carl Hartman said officials will present maps and information for the proposed Eastgate Parkway from 4-6 p.m. at Glen Este High School, 4342 Glen Este-Withamsville Road.
The parkway would begin at Mount Carmel-Tobasco Road west of Interstate 275, and stretch about 3 miles to the Bach-Buxton Road extension.
"This is the corridor area being studied, and we will show the public several alternatives we are looking at," Mr. Hartman said. "We want to get public opinion on alternatives before we make a selection."
One alternative involves a two-lane highway running north of Clough Pike. It would veer to the south at Glen Este-Withamsville Road and run about 1 1/2 miles. The road would turn east at Shayler Road and continue to Bach-Buxton Road.
Another alternative would run south of Clough Pike, also cutting sharply to the south at Glen Este-Withamsville Road, stretching about a mile across Shayler and turning east near Timber Creek Drive. It would run across McMann Road and on to the Bach-Buxton Road extension. A third alternative would run along Clough Pike, joining the northern version of the proposed road at Chanticleer Way, crossing Shayler Road and on to the Bach-Buxton Road extension.
"The new road will be built in phases," Mr. Hartman said. "The first phase will be a two-lane highway with a third lane added for turning. We will widen it to four lanes with a fifth lane for turning."
The parkway is being studied to relieve increasing traffic in the area, Mr. Hartman said. Traffic studies by the county engineer's office have shown that the number of vehicles registered in Union Township has jumped from 29,781 in 1990 to 50,710 in 1997.
The new road would take pressure off the township's two primary east-west arteries, Ohio 125 and Ohio 32. "It is becoming obvious 32 and 125 cannot handle the increased traffic," Mr. Hartman said. He expects studies to be complete and financial arrangements in place to start construction in about 2002.
To build the new road would involve acquiring a lot of residential property within the corridor area being studied.
"This is why we want to begin presenting the alternatives to the public now, so people can begin thinking about whether they have to sell their property. And we want the public to help decide where the road should be built," Mr. Hartman said.
He said maps and diagrams of the alternatives will be on view at tonight's meeting, and staff from the county and Pflum Klausmeier & Gehrum Consultants in Fairfax will answer questions.
