Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and a group of city officials and community leaders broke ground Sept. 16 on a roadway safety project that will bring the first protected bike lane to the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood.
It's the latest project involved with the city's Vision Zero initiative to eliminate crash-related deaths and serious injuries on Columbus' streets. The estimated $7.1 million project is also an investment in a neighborhood that Ginther said was historically cut out of infrastructure decisions.
"This is part of restoration, restorative infrastructure," Ginther told reporters after the groundbreaking.
The Mount Vernon Avenue Area - Phase 1 Roadway Improvements project will see construction workers install improved sidewalks,
curbs, protected bike lanes, bus islands and curb extensions along Mount Vernon Avenue from St. Clair Avenue to Champion Avenue and along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Hamilton Avenue to St. Clair Avenue.
The city planned the project alongside King-Lincoln Bronzeville community groups, which have been calling for safety improvements for a long time, Dana Moessner, vice president of the Bronzeville Neighborhood Association, said at the groundbreaking.
"We have asked, pleaded, begged to be the guinea pigs. We want to be the first one to have this type of project," Moessner said.
The project will make improvements to Mount Vernon Avenue, which is on Columbus' High Injury Network of city roadways that have been identified with the greatest number of fatal, serious injury, and vulnerable user crashes. The project is also in a Vision Zero Communities of Interest area, which are areas where residents may have fewer choices about their travel, according to city project information.
A previous Vision Zero project that installed four-way stop signs and other improvements at the intersection of Champion Avenue and Mount Vernon Avenue reduced crashes there by 91%, Department of Public Service Director Kelly Scocco said.
The project is being funded through past capital budgets, leveraged funds and a $3.5 million federal grant. The city expects construction to take a year to 18 months, Scocco said.
Reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com, @NathanRHart on X and nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ginther, city officials break ground on Mount Vernon Avenue area improvements
