BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- Residents and business owners who oppose a November ballot initiative that would halt the widening of Tylersville and Stitt roads have gone on the offensive.
Leaders of Concerned Citizens for All of Mason launched a campaign Wednesday to urge residents to vote "no" on Issue 10 on Nov. 3. The measure landed on the ballot after a petition drive by another group -- Concerned Citizens of Mason.
"We totally disagree with the Concerned Citizens of Mason that by keeping the roads near schools narrow it makes them safe," said Matt Kline, chairman of Concerned Citizens for All of Mason. "In fact, statistics show that narrow roads are less safe."
Over the next several weeks, Mr. Kline said, his group will begin distributing pamphlets and going door-to-door to speak with residents.
"We need to educate voters about what this referendum could mean for them and for the city," he said.
In two months, Mason voters will decide a referendum that would restrict the construction or improvement of any road within three-quarters of a mile from a school border. Mr. Kline said the initiative could have some detrimental effects on the city if it passes.
"This initiative would basically stop the widening of every major thoroughfare in the city," he said. "Their intention to keep roads narrow is almost unfathomable."
Traffic congestion and pollution generated by narrow roads is of special concern to the group, Mr. Kline said.
According to statistics provided by the Mason Police Department, about 23,000 vehicles travel along the narrow stretch of Tylersville Road daily. By comparison, about 26,000 vehicles use the recently widened Mason-Montgomery Road daily.
Mr. Kline said Mason's rapid growth is only going to generate more traffic along city roads. He said roads must adapt to accommodate growth, otherwise increased traffic congestion will result, thus affecting everyone.
"They can't stop growth," Mr. Kline said. "As traffic increases, keeping the roads narrow is only going to make the situation more dangerous."
Members of Concerned Citizens of Mason say their intention is not to halt growth or progress. Instead, they maintain their mission is safeguarding schoolchildren from increased semi-truck traffic generated by an east-west connector.
Mr. Kline scoffed at that notion.
"Personally, I believe this is an action taken on by a group of citizens who just don't want this road widened by their houses," he said. "And they are using schoolchildren as the basis for accomplishing that goal. If this were truly an issue of school safety, where is the Mason Board of Education?"
The Mason Board of Education elected not to side with either group last month.
"The fact that they've taken that position of neutrality speaks volumes," Mr. Kline said. "If school safety was a concern, it seems to me that (the board) would be spearheading this initiative." But even without the school board's support, defusing Concerned Citizens of Mason's referendum will be a formidable challenge, Mr. Kline said.
"Our major battle right now is to educate the public," he said. "Most of the public has no idea what the ordinance is really about. We've got to go door-to-door, preach the word and tell them the facts."
