Columbus Consolidated Government
Council Memorandum
TO: Mayor and Councilors DATE: 12/04/2007
THRU: Isaiah Hugley, City Manager
FROM: David Arrington, Deputy City Manager SUBJECT: Willis Road Extension
At the request of Councilors McDaniel, staff has examined several alternatives
to extend Willis Road (Attachments A, B & C) from the current Willis Road
cul-de-sac across the existing rail bed and connecting into either Clubview
Court or the intersection of Cathryn Drive and Camille Drive. The roads
depicted in the attachments are shown in red if they do not meet current road
design standards and green if they do meet current design standards. Based on
the alignment of existing streets and right of way, any acceptable alternative
would require the purchase of additional right of way and residential
structure(s) to accommodate a road extension in accordance with current design
standards.
After analysis of the various alternatives and careful consideration of the
potential neighborhood impact of extending Willis Road, it is the Staff?s
opinion the road extension is not practical. Listed below are the relevant
factors considered in developing this opinion.
The existing alignment of the streets does not permit construction of the
extension road in accordance with current road design standards (turning radius
and tangent requirements) without the purchase of additional right of way to
include 1 ? 3 homes depending upon the design.
Vertical elevation differences in the properties would require additional
engineering studies to determine the feasibility of constructing a road to meet
current design standards.
Any design meeting current road design standards would require the diagonal
crossing of the Rails to Trail property. Vertical elevation challenges and
road design features would potentially have a negative safety impact on the
trail.
Since Willis Road intersects directly with Armour Road at a signaled
intersection, extending Willis Road may promote a significant volume of through
traffic from Warm Springs to Edgewood. The increase in traffic volume may
have a negative impact on the Camille/Cathryn neighborhood and the current
residents on Willis Road.
The cost of construction for a road meeting current design standard is
approximately $250,000. Purchase of additional right of way for road purposes
could range from $250,000 to $500,000 depending upon the route selected.
However, in order to accommodate emergency vehicle traffic it may be feasible
to erect an emergency access point to the Rails to Trail (Attachment D). The
emergency access point could be used by emergency vehicles to enter onto the
Rails to Trail and exit on Armour Avenue. Access could be gained by removing
bollards separating the Willis Road cul-de-sac from the Rails to Trail. This
is similar to the approach to allow emergency vehicle access to the Riverwalk
for emergencies occurring on the Riverwalk.
If you would like additional information concerning this matter please let me
know.
Attachments