BY AMY HIGGINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FAIRFIELD - Donnie Durham fights traffic on the Dixie Highway every day to work in Hamilton - but the Goshen resident hardly ever stops to shop. "There ain't much on Route 4," he said.
Not much, unless you count almost 600 businesses, 800 permanent signs,d 300,000 square feet of vacant space along the five-mile strip and 40,000 cars a day.
Those factors comprise Ohio 4's four distinct - but somewhat dysfunctional - personalities: a retail district, where shops close or struggle to stay open; a commercial strip, which has high vacancies and low leasing rates; a traffic artery, which is crowded and congested, especially at peak hours; and a city gateway, which isn't all that attractive.
Addressing these weaknesses and creating a vision for the corridor is the subject of a Route 4 Corridor Study commissioned by the city in June. Planners are seeking public input at a community forum at 7 p.m. today at the new Fairfield Senior High School.
"The community forum will provide a base for starting development for each of those elements," said Patrick Merten, Fairfield planning manager. "For this study to be successful, we need a significant amount of public input. We have to be responsible to business owners and residents in the area."
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FACTORS BEHIND STUDY
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The Community Forum on the Route 4 Corridor Study will be 7 p.m. today at the new Fairfield Senior High School. Factors driving the study are that:
Undeveloped land along Ohio 4 has decreased 72 percent since 1979.
Traffic accidents on Ohio 4 have increased 70 percent since 1979.
Ohio 4 is a regional destination for consumers of motor vehicles, home improvements and furnishings, and gourmet food.
Muhlhauser Road is proposed to be five lanes between LeSaint Drive and Ohio 747.
Industrial land use has increased 174 percent along Ohio 4 since 1979.
Traffic volume has increased 33 percent on Ohio 4 since 1979.
Residents of Fairfield spend more money outside the city on eating and drinking establishments, appliances, apparel and department stores.
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City planners already have started studying economic and business conditions along Ohio 4 by forming an advisory committee of representatives from the city, the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce and the community. The city also has hired a consulting firm, ZHA Inc. of Annapolis, Md. Consultant Sarah Woodworth will give a report to the advisory committee next week on the corridor's economic conditions.
"We don't have recommendations at this stage," Ms. Woodworth said. "We believe strongly that the role of the corridor is changing, and to position the corridor for the next 20 years, we have to look at what works well there."
ZHA has found that some types of retail, specifically apparel, shoe stores and department stores, don't always work well. Several have closed and moved out in recent years.
Niche retailers, however, such as car dealerships and Jungle Jim's food store, thrive.
Ms. Woodworth declined to specify what alternatives she will present to the city's advisory committee next week, but said they will include developing the land with a mix of uses.
"The idea of more strip centers, a mall - we don't think it's very feasible," she said. "It's not a good idea to pursue. It will fail."
City officials guessed as much, Mr. Merten said. Realizing that 300,000 square feet was vacant (including the former Van Leunen's department store) and that former retail spaces are being taken over by offices ( such as Merck-Medco moving into the former Central Hardware) was an impetus for the study.
Cadillac Travel owner Viren Patel said the vacancies already are a detriment to remaining businesses. His travel agency used to be in the center with Van Leunen's and All About Sports but moved to office space behind the strip mall when those stores moved out.
Without the foot traffic, Mr. Patel's business came mostly from phone calls and established clientele. He no longer wanted to pay the higher rent for frontage visibility - especially because so many drivers along Dixie Highway don't stop, he said.
City Councilman Howard Dirksen, chairman of the community planning committee, said his interest in starting the study was in the corridor's aesthetics. But he also sees the uses of land along the corridor changing.
"It's changing from what it used to be," Mr. Dirksen said. "I've talked to people who remember this as a two-lane highway. What we're facing now is how to plan for the future."
Mr. Dirksen said council will examine closely any suggestions made by the public and the consultants - and any solutions they pose, including zoning changes.
Ernie Daddio's suggestion is a simple one: Stop development. Mr. Daddio, a nine-year resident of Fairfield Township, drives Ohio 4 to get to work in Wilmington. He said he doesn't shop at many of the stores along Dixie Highway. And any new businesses would only tie up traffic more.
"They need to stop where it's at and not develop any more," Mr. Daddio said. "Stop developing where it's at or it's just going to get worse."
