Tuesday, June 01, 1999
Ohio 4: Path to the future
Fairfield would establish zones for big, small, medium firms
BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Editor's note: This is the first of two stories examining Ohio 4, a major artery in Butler County.
FAIRFIELD — For a “forgotten” highway, Ohio 4 is a busy place these days.
At rush hour in southern Fairfield, cars line up in tight rows, their movement punctuated by blinking traffic lights.
Despite changing transportation patterns, Ohio 4 remains a major highway — and sometimes a major headache — for drivers and local officials.
For the last year, Fairfield planners have sought opinions from business people and commuters, and now the city is ready to change the four- and five-lane highway.
“It's the city's most influential and important corridor,” said Patrick Merten, deputy planning director and author of “The Route Four Plan: A Collective Effort.” “We need a long-term vision for it.”
Since the 1920s, the north-south highway has been a major thoroughfare in Butler County. Over the years, it has had different names — Dixie Highway, Carthage-Hamilton Pike and Wayne Trail.
“In addition to several name changes, the road itself has changed over time,” Mr. Merten wrote in his report. “From its inception until the early 1960s, Route 4 was a rural two-lane road. At one point, it was even paved with brick from Bobmeyer Road to the southern corporation line.”
Recently, planners finished writing their proposal for Ohio 4. Council has not yet considered it. Put simply, officials want to link economic development, design context, land use and transportation.
Veteran Councilman Donald Hassler said the city is determined to improve the highway.
“It was headed downhill, but we're turning that around now,” he said. “It will be put into different quadrants. To the north, the Medco (RX Services) building, the former Central Hardware building that sat vacant for some time, is a big improvement. I think the new Drive 1 dealership, McDonald's and Skyline have also made big improvements to the road.” At Drive 1, 4750 Dixie Highway, sales have been solid since the franchise opened earlier this year, said spokesman David Vincent.
“It's a good area for the sale of cars,” he said. “Our franchise is geared to the second family car. Being in this neighborhood, we think it will work out. We're on the neighborhood fringe.”
To the south on Ohio 4, the area around Jungle Jim's also has improved, Mr. Hassler said.
“We'll put a traffic light in there, at Boehm Drive and Ohio 4, which will enhance the area,” he said. “There's so much traffic there now. Jungle Jim's brings in a lot of people to our city.”
Farther south, the vacant Van Leunen's building “is a negative image on the Route 4 Corridor,” Mr. Merten said. The city would like to see the building occupied, as the old Central Hardware store was after it was remodeled last year for another use.
To improve traffic flow, planners want to eliminate or consolidate some curb cuts, add landscaped medians and install service drive connections.
Immediate aesthetic improvements — such as trees — should begin on the Ohio 4 right of way, planners say, and other improvements should be made in five phases.
The planning department's proposal calls for establishing three distinct business districts to improve the Ohio 4 corridor's economic and visual environment.
Mr. Merten sees the road in three sections: Larger businesses, such as Pease Industries in the 7100 block, would be on the southern end. Medium-sized business, including car dealerships, would be in the middle. Smaller retail businesses would be on the northern part of the highway.
The city would encourage the area to grow this way.
TOMORROW: Hamilton and the north.
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