City of Gahanna Action to Address Hamilton/Granville Intersection Safety

To enhance the safety of pedestrians and motorists, construction has begun at the Hamilton/Granville intersection in Gahanna.

The work, which is currently under way, is collectively known as the “Hamilton/Granville Intersection Improvements Project.”.  Work on the road and medians near the intersection  is scheduled to be completed in early November, with additional work on sidewalks and traffic signals to be completed as necessary through November.

The Hamilton/Granville Intersection Improvement project was originally planned to be completed prior to the start of the 2011/2012 school year as to not interfere with school operations.  However, the improvements on this project introduced many conflicts with existing utilities.  

In preparation of the upcoming roadway work a major gas line and 14 AEP power poles were to be relocated.  The gas line work was completed in the winter and new poles were placed in late spring.  Unfortunately the work to transfer the overhead utilities (including power, cable and phone) to the new poles was extensive and required action from multiple entities who had to fit the work into their project schedules. 

The City worked closely with the various utility providers to move this process along as quickly as possible; however, the utility companies set their own schedules and the work was not completed by the time the project was to begin.  This delay has forced the project to be performed during the school year.

Upon completion, the project will introduce many new features that will enhance the safety of the intersection, including:

Public Art…in Gahanna

By Brandi Braun
Assistant City Administrator

The Gahanna Parks and Recreation Foundation (GPRF) is scheduled to unveil the community's first piece of public art that will establish a public arts presence and program in the City of Gahanna. The art is being funded by a private donation received in 2010 specifically to fund public art in the Creekside District. 

In 2011, the GPRF commissioned area artist Steve Bush to create a piece of art for the Creekside District and will be unveiled at the Foundation’s Friday after Five event.  Naming rights for the sculpture will be auctioned during the event thereby replenishing the Foundation’s art fund.  After one year, the piece will be moved to a permanent location in the Creekside District.  It is the intent of the Foundation members to continue this tradition of annually commissioning a piece to build a public art presence in Gahanna’s downtown.

The Foundation members wanted the art to be reflective of the community, so we put the call out through traditional and nontraditional methods asking for volunteers with an interest in public art to serve on Gahanna’s first Public Art Steering Committee. 

Six People serve on the committee:

• Jeannine Kern, Olde Gahanna resident and business owner, The Little Black Chair
• Amy Musser, Gahanna resident
• Laurel Naegle, Gahanna Resident & Parks and Recreation Board Member/Parks and Recreation Foundation Board Member
• Gary Sebach, Principal, Director of Architectural Services, Bird Houk a Division of OHM 
• Tony Slanec, Principal, Director of Urban Design & Planning, Bird Houk a Division of OHM
• Rhonda Tucker, Gahanna Resident and professional artist
• Jan Ross, Gahanna Parks and Recreation Board member & Parks and Recreation Foundation Board member 

Artist Steven Bush

The steering committee met two times with Steve.  At the first meeting, Steve brought and presented five art concept sketches based on his research on The City of Gahanna and the Creekside District.  The Committee members asked questions and discussed each concept sketch and narrowed down the pool of options to the two favorites.  At the second meeting, one month later, Steve brought models of each finalist that were presented and discussed.  The committee voted by ballot to select the “winning” piece, which Steve got to work on immediately!

Artist Steve Bush shows committee
members the artwork in progress

We are excited to unveil the artwork and you can be a part of it while supporting the Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation.  Please join us at the Friday After Five Event for an evening of fun and good causes and to be part of the launching of Gahanna’s Public Art Program.   

For more information about Friday After Five, please go to www.gahannaparksandrecreationfoundation.org or call 342-4250.  If you are interested in becoming involved with The Arts in Gahanna, please contact Brandi Braun at brandi.braun@gahanna.gov or 342-4045.

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About the Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation:

Parks & Recreation services are essential for our City’s quality of life. They benefit our lives each day by encouraging businesses and new residents to settle in Gahanna; they provide lifetime family memories; they improve our health and preserve our natural area. Like other resources, these services are funded by the City. However, the needs of our parks, facilities and recreation programming may exceed our financial resources. The Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation was founded to assist the Gahanna Department of Parks & Recreation in supporting these needs. This non-profit 501(C)(3) organization is a group of hard-working volunteer citizens who donate their time and talents to protect, nurture, and grow the opportunities our residents deserve.

About Steven Bush:
A few miles North East of Columbus in Blacklick, Ohio resides a treasure many have yet to discover. Steven Bush, a metal sculptor and owner of Smart Works has his studio a few feet from the home he owns with his lovely wife Theresa and two sons Sidney and Dominic. The five-acre location with a woods and lake is the perfect setting for an artist like Steve to practice his beliefs that the order of life must be - God, family, love of your work, money and time to play. Read the rest...

Gahanna’s Parks & Recreation Programs Impact Everyone

By Becky Stinchcomb
Mayor, City of Gahanna

Mayor Becky Stinchcomb speaks
during the official opening of the
Big Walnut Trail Section 7 Bridge

At City Council last week, I presented a proclamation celebrating the Ohio Parks & Recreation Association Parks & Recreation Month throughout July in Gahanna I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Parks & Recreation Month than when we officially opened our latest critical piece of the Big Walnut Trail.

But this trail is just part of what our Parks & Recreation program is all about and I would like to  highlight some of the other benefits we enjoy right here in Gahanna.

Our first priority as a City is to be Citizens Centric. Our Parks & Recreation facilities and programs are just that, and are not only a source of pride, but add to our quality of life, our health and a fact that is often overlooked, the economic success of Gahanna.

I am proud that Gahanna owns and operates 770 acres of parklands.  You may not know this, but that is the second highest acreage total in suburban Franklin County! 

Ask City Hall: Why is the City installing bike/arrow pavement markings on Stygler Rd. and what do they mean?

The section of Stygler Rd. between Chapelfield Rd. and the southern intersection of Ridenour Rd. is now designated as an on-street bike route as shown on the City’s Bikeway Plan.  The combination bike/arrow markings are a new pavement marking known as a “Sharrow”, pronounced “sh – arrow”. 

                

Sharrows indicate a shared lane in which both bikes and cars are to use.  Bikes are permitted in all lanes on public roadways, but Gahanna is using the markings to increase awareness of the presence of bikes in a particular lane on a roadway that has been designated a bike route. 

Last year when Stygler Rd. was repaved, the City reduced the center two-way left turn lane to 9 feet which widened the northbound and southbound lanes to better accommodate bikes.

Community Comes Together to Save the 4th Of July Gahanna Freedom Festival and Fireworks

Like most communities, Gahanna had to make some tough budget decisions. In 2011, City of Gahanna’s funding for the 2011 Fourth of July Freedom Festival and fireworks had been eliminated but the Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation took on the challenge of Saving the Freedom Festival though individual and corporate donations.  Their grassroots efforts of outreach and soliciting online donations through their Facebook Page (www.Facebook.com/SaveTheFreedomFestival) yielded enough money to fund the fireworks.   Local organizations and businesses, such as Gahanna’s own Heartland Bank, CD 101, Donatos, the Gahanna Rotary, Eckl Parking and many others offered their support for a full day of events and a fireworks display the community will certainly enjoy.

These donations, combined with the generous donations of individuals and other organizations, means enough money was raised to fund the FREEDOM FESTIVAL and fireworks show at the Gahanna Municipal Golf Course (220 Olde Ridenour Road) for July 4^th, 2011. 

“Heartland has been fortunate to have navigated the financial waters successfully and simply wanted to give back to the residents of Gahanna.  The Parks Foundation and community were in jeopardy of losing one of the best community events of the year and we were not going to let that happen.  This is what community banks do.  Best of all, we also get to show our appreciation for our active Military by supporting the USO,” stated G. Scott McComb, Heartland Bank President and CEO.

“Our city did not want to lose this wonderful community event”, said Lee Tucker, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Foundation.    “It’s too important an event; it’s part of our identity as a city and a country and it’s become a tradition.  The community really stepped up through small and large donations.  Every dollar made a difference.” 

A new aspect to this year’s Freedom Festival will be that CD 101 on 102.5 FM will provide the soundtrack to the fireworks which will also be simulcast on their station.  The soundtrack will be heard throughout the golf course and on fireworks viewers’ radio. “Because of CD 101’s generous donation of their resources and talent, this year’s fireworks will be even better,” said Brian Hoyt, Public Information Manager for the City of Gahanna. “The synchronized soundtrack will only add to the experience and is sure to make this a fireworks show to remember!”

The Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation raised money through individual donations as well as larger, partner donations.  Some of the largest donors include the title sponsor Heartland Bank, an anonymous donor, Stripes Partners Superior Beverage Group and the Gahanna Rotary Club, ‘Patriot Sponsors’ Kemba Financial Credit Union, Eckl Parking, The Gahanna YMCA, Sunrise Masonic Lodge #783 and Buckeye Power Sales..

“This is another example of what makes Gahanna such a special community,” said Mayor Becky Stinchcomb. “I am proud of the Foundation’s efforts to bring everyone together and to honor our men and women in uniform. Community, service and tradition is what the Fourth of July is all about”

This year’s event will benefit the USO, who will help Gahanna honor those serving in the Armed forces.

The USO of Central & Southern Ohio helps lift the spirits of Ohio's service men and women and their families. A nonprofit, congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities. The USO provides a tangible way for all of us to say thank you, as it has for 70 years.  The USO is not part of the U.S. government, and funds that are generated locally are used locally to help those who sacrifice so much every day.

Activities and games are being provided by the Gahanna YMCA.

“What makes this so special is that we are going from no event to having one of the greatest events that Gahanna has ever had in honor of our soldiers and a true American Tradition, the USO,” said Tony Collins, Director of Gahanna Department of Parks & Recreation.  “All of this is thanks to the citizens of Gahanna, the Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation and great community partners like Heartland Bank.”

Residents and visitors are encouraged to visit the Freedom Festival Page for up to date information and a schedule of events for the The Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation Freedom Festival Presented By Heartland Bank Benefiting the USO.

Ask City Hall: Are Those Speed Bumps in my Neighborhood?

Q) There appears to be small speed bumps all through my neighborhood.  What is the purpose of these?

A) Many of the streets within Gahanna are composed of a 7-inch concrete base with a 3-inch asphalt surface.  These streets also have concrete combined curb and gutter installed which is poured separate from the roadway.  All of these components will expand and contract separately as temperatures rise and fall. 

During the hot summer months, the concrete base of the roadway expands and causes the base to compress.  Since concrete is not a flexible material this action increases pressure within the base of the road.  If this pressure isn’t relieved the road could buckle or break.  Due to this pressure, the roadway is designed to have asphalt relief joints installed approximately every 500 feet. 

An asphalt relief joint consists of a 5-foot wide full depth asphalt section which spans the road.  Since asphalt is a flexible material, it absorbs the stresses produced by the expansion of the concrete base and is squeezed during hot temperatures.  When temperatures cool back down the concrete base shrinks and the pressure on the asphalt relief joint is removed.  The asphalt relief joint will not fully resume its original shape and so a bump in the pavement is created. 

After years of this action the result is what appears to be a speed bump on the surface of the road.  As these joints become larger, they can become a concern and the sounds created by vehicles and trailers hitting them can be a nuisance. 

Upon request, the City can inspect these joints and grind down the pavement as necessary to alleviate the issues caused by the bump.

For more information, contact the City’s Service Department by clicking here.

Have a question for City Hall?  Leave a comment or email us at information@Gahanna.gov

Ask City Hall: Why can’t the City time the lights to all turn green at the same time?

The Gahanna City Engineer’s office is often asked questions regarding traffic signal timing and coordination.  Here are a few facts that may help you understand this complex system.

Traffic signals in Gahanna operate on a time-of-day schedule.  The timing and sequence of each light varies throughout the day.  Many of Gahanna’s signals operate in coordination.  Signal coordination is when signals in a corridor communicate with one another to operate in a sequence providing the motorist a greater opportunity to travel through the next adjacent signal.  Coordination is usually provided in a specific direction depending on volume of traffic.  For instance, during the AM Peak hour, Hamilton Road signals will favor the southbound direction and should change on a sequence which provides a motorist traveling southbound a greater opportunity to travel through multiple green lights while exiting town.