Sunday, September 26, 1999
Residents fight Main St. widening
Traffic hurts old neighborhood in Lebanon, they say
BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — In the nearly eight years since Rod and Tracey Hilterbran moved into their 1886 Victorian home on Main Street, they have installed thicker glass in the windows and added insulation as a noise buffer.
It hasn't worked.
Passing trucks still swallow pieces of their conversations. The TV volume is up a couple of notches. The explosive whoosh of truck brakes and blare of horns wakes them.
The Hilterbrans worry an $11 million project by the Ohio Department of Transportation to expand Main Street to three lanes will only invite more traffic and detract from the area's historic character.
“In the past decade, there has been a renaissance of restoration. Many people have moved (to Main Street) just for the homes,” Mr. Hilterbran said. “People are in sort of a disbelief at the traffic that travels on the two-lane street through here.”
The concerns of the Hilterbrans and some of their Main Street neighbors is a common theme among city residents who are trying to grapple with Lebanon's rapid growth, up 32 percent since 1990 to an estimated 13,800. Fear that development will overrun the city's historical character sparked the recent formation of a grass-roots group dedicated to preservation, the Lebanon Conservancy Foundation.
Main Street, as the most accessible connector between Interstates 71 and 75, has shouldered much of the increased traffic accompanying the area's development.
Some Main Street residents propose putting the expansion project on hold and moving forward with completing a bypass that is intended to divert truck traffic. If traffic follows the bypass, residents argue that a Main Street expansion isn't necessary.
A nucleus of five to 10 residents has scheduled a meeting today to discuss concerns about the project.
City officials, who requested state and federal money for the project, said Main Street desperately needs repairs. The expansion has been in city plans for 30 years.
“We're out there patching potholes now to hope and make it through the winter,” City Engineer Barry Conway said.
Slated to start next summer, the two-year project would replace water lines, some of which are a century old, and add a storm sewer system, Mr. Conway said. The project calls for new paving, curbs, gutters and sidewalks.
Contractors are to add a third lane in the residential neighborhood and expand the commercial district near the Ohio 48 bypass to five lanes. For the majority of the project, the expansions will remain within the city's existing right of way and won't cut into residents' property.
The project should enhance — not detract from — the city's historical character, City Planner Doug Johnson said, in part because it would eliminate off-street parking and bury utility lines. The city also has agreed to replace every tree cut down during construction.
But Mr. Hilterbran said the road project is incongruous with residents' wishes.
“There is no way to keep it historic and also expand it the way they want to,” he said.
The city contracted with M-E Cos. in Fairfield for about $200,000 to negotiate with the more than 150 Main Street property owners for right of way and easements. Almost all of the easements would be temporary, allowing landscape or grade work on the edges of properties. The city will pay residents for the inconvenience, with prices ranging from $100 to $1,000 based on several factors, including the size of the easement.
Negotiators have met with about half of the property owners, said Bob Howard, director of real estate for M-E Cos. Only two have declined to sign, he said. Mr. Johnson said city officials intend to begin eminent domain proceedings, which allow a government to override a property owner's decision not to sell. The government would then pay fair market value for land needed for a public use, such as road construction.
Bill and Susan Mullins, who moved to a late-1890s Victorian home four years ago, did not give their approval.
The project is ill-conceived, Mr. Mullins said.
There are some easy solutions to the traffic congestion — without spending millions to expand the road, he said. A turn signal at East Street would alleviate some of the backups. Lower speed limits and a noise ordinance could make Main Street a less attractive option for truckers, he said.
Lebanon has changed considerably since the plan was first introduced three decades ago, Mr. Mullins said. City officials should revisit it before they move forward.
“If Lebanon loses its historical value, they might as well just kiss the downtown goodbye,” he said. “It's just going to be another town.”
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