Photo courtesy of the Village of Marble Cliff
A view of West Fifth Avenue looking east. Upper Arlington is to the left. The multi-use path will be in Marble Cliff, to the right of the photo.
Starting in late spring, Marble Cliff will continue to build upon one of the eight strategic priorities set by Village Council in its 2015 Strategic Plan.
“We’re pleased that this project is being done, as the improvements will make the Fifth Avenue corridor (from Cambridge Boulevard to Dublin Road) more productive to the Village and appealing to the public,” says Marble Cliff Mayor Kent Studebaker.
The improvements, done as a joint project with the City of Upper Arlington, will include:
- Milling and repaving West Fifth Avenue from the railroad tracks east to Andover Road.
- Constructing a new, 8-10 foot wide, multipurpose/bike path connecting the Scioto Greenway Trail at Dublin Road/West Fifth Avenue to Arlington Avenue where the path will connect to Upper Arlington’s bike boulevard and Marble Cliff’s designated bike route.
- Narrowing Fifth Avenue by eight feet to accommodate the new multipurpose path. Two lanes of traffic and parking on the north side of the street will be maintained with no loss of parking. All property owners will have access to their driveways during construction.
- Installing new curbs in Marble Cliff and moving the street lights into the new tree lawn.
Under the direction of Village Engineer Josh Ford and Upper Arlington City Engineer Jackie Thiel, the engineering firm of Burgess & Niple designed the project. The project is being bid out for construction this year.
The $632,000 project will be funded from several sources:
- A grant from the Ohio State capital budget
- A grant from the Franklin County Engineer
- And the balance split evenly between Marble Cliff and Upper Arlington
Village Fiscal Officer Cindy McKay explained that these improvements are being done to address the pavement deterioration on Fifth Avenue and to extend cycling opportunities and pedestrian use to the central Ohio bike system.
“The new multi-use path will allow people to safely bike and walk all the way Downtown, while addressing the pavement issues on West Fifth Avenue.” says McKay.
McKay says the Village is excited about the opportunity to pool resources with Upper Arlington in a project that will benefit both communities and those who use West Fifth Avenue.
“It’s been a pleasure working with Upper Arlington,” she says. “Hopefully, we can do more joint projects together.”
Bill Johannes is the Marble Cliff Administrative Assistant. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
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