High Street Sidewalk Closure Delayed

A decision to close a sidewalk on High Street to try and stop late-night foot traffic in the neighborhood was delayed by Kent City Council Wednesday night.

Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to wait until after construction is finished on the new, 596-bed “” student apartments before acting on near the eastern end. Construction is expected to wrap up next summer in time to open the apartments for the fall 2012 semester at neighboring .

The Kent Planning Commission made the recommendation earlier this summer after a High Street resident suggested the sidewalk closure.

“The (foot) traffic that’s there now has been happening for a while … the concern is that it’s going to increase a lot,” Councilwoman Tracy Wallach said. “I would like to take a longer look at this to see how the majority of residents feel in that area. Maybe nothing’s going to change. Maybe it’s not going to get worse.”

Wallach made the recommendation to table the idea until after the complex opens “so we can wait and see what’s going to happen. I’m not saying ‘we’re not going to address the issue.’”

The apartment complex, being built by Columbus firm Edwards Communities Development, has site plan approval from the city to move forward on construction. Two High Street residents, Marc Kirby and Cassandra Pegg-Kirby, have of the project, which was the subject of dozens of public meetings for more than a year. One concern raised repeatedly at those meetings was the anticipated increase in students cutting through the neighborhood on their way to and from downtown Kent’s bars.

“I’m all for delaying it until the litigation is resolved and to see what the traffic pattern is at that time,” Councilman Erik Valenta said.

Kent City Manager Dave Ruller said city administrators were concerned closing a portion of the sidewalk counters a goal of city leaders: making Kent a more pedestrian-friendly community.

“We are worried that we would be going backwards in that respect,” Ruller said. “We’re typically not in the business of closing sidewalks. We’re in the business of building new ones.”

That comment drew criticism from Cassandra Pegg-Kirby. She said the city would be ignoring another community goal — established in 2004 in the Bicentennial Plan — of protecting city neighborhoods.

“I certainly am not in favor of making it less pedestrian friendly,” she said. “I appreciate having access to the university that way as well. I’m trying to find a reasonable solution to a problem that will persist, and become worse, with 600 additional people using that as a way to come back from the bars downtown."

Councilwoman Heidi Shaffer, whose Ward 5 includes High Street, said she wants to consider other options aside from closing the sidewalk before taking action.

“I think the wait-and-see approach might be the best,” Shaffer said.

Dave Williams, a Kent attorney representing Edwards Communities, said the firm would be willing to work with whatever option the neighbors and council members agree on for the situation. The project, located mostly on land east of South Lincoln Street, includes a few acres on the west side adjacent to the end of High Street.

“We want to be a good neighbor, so we’ll cooperate in anyway we can with our next door property,” Williams said.