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I am writing this letter to voice my concern about pedestrian safety in and around the new subdivision being proposed at Sugar Camp. Many residents of Oakwood are unaware of the plans for this site. Unfortunately, this development appears to be an upscale urban sprawl type of subdivision, unlike the pre-World War II plats found throughout our beautiful city. The density level will be around the same as is found on the east side of Oakwood, yet this will look like a smaller version of subdivisions found in Kettering, Centerville, or Beavercreek. In an effort to provide some connectivity, and attempt to blend with the rest of our community, there will be several sidewalk paths along Far Hills Avenue and Schantz Avenue leading into this development. There will be sidewalks along the subdivision streets and sidewalks running down to the Old River Fields. There is also a plan for a small park inside the neighborhood. The new entrance/street for the Old River Fields will be through the Sugar Camp subdivision, as will a proposed office building with over 90 parking
spaces at this same location. There will only be one way in and out for all of this development. Far Hills Avenue will be widened along this area in order to accommodate the single entry and exit of this development.
Needless to say, a lot of traffic will be concentrated in a compact area. Pedestrian safety issues need to be addressed. I will discuss two; curb types and street crossings.
When you walk around Oakwood you will notice that most sidewalks are buffered from the street by tree lawns and curbs. Every street with a sidewalk in our city has a certain type of curb. This curb is called a vertical (non-mountable) curb. The curbs found in the business districts are also vertical curbs. These curbs effectively frame a street and give it boundaries. They help to deter cars from parking or driving on the grass and/or the sidewalk next to the street. The Sugar Camp development is being required to have rolled (mountable) curbs. Rolled curbs are found in many post-World War II subdivisions around the Dayton area. This type of curb is gently sloping and easily breached by a vehicle with minimal effort. We have a few examples of this type of curb in Oakwood. Most are found on roads and cul de sacs on the west side. Not one street in Oakwood with a rolled curb has a sidewalk.
Sugar Camp will not only have this type of curb, but the sidewalks will be directly next to the street, and there will be no tree lawn for pedestrian protection. Many children and other residents of our city will use these sidewalks to walk to the park, walk to the soccer fields, or just to take a stroll after dinner. A rolled curb, along with a sidewalk directly next to the street, places pedestrians in harms way of a vehicle traveling onto the sidewalk and into a pedestrian. The rolled curb will also allow cars to park on the sidewalk. Remember, there will be a lot of foot traffic and a lot of vehicle traffic at this site due to the proposed park, soccer fields entry, and an office building all with one entry/exit road.
The reason the rolled curb is being used is simply because it is cheaper. With this type of curb the developer/city does not need to place a curb cut for the driveway aprons. Never mind that every street in Oakwood with a sidewalk has a vertical curb. If the city is not going to require a tree lawn between the sidewalk and street, then they need to require a vertical curb to provide a safer walk in this new subdivision.
The second concern is street crossings. The pedestrian crosswalk at the proposed entrance into Sugar Camp will be made more difficult because of the curb radius. When a street has a large curb radius, it makes the crossing of the street much wider than it would be if the radius were smaller. The reason a curb radius is cut so wide is to accommodate a vehicle turning right from one street onto another street. The vehicle does not need to slow down nearly as much if the angle of the curb cut is wide. Pedestrian safety is affected by the vehicle’s speed and the increased time it takes to walk across the street because of the wide radius. The developer/city will angle the sidewalk ramp crossing outward at the widest portion of the curb cut. This effectively places the pedestrian in an awkward position of walking towards the traffic that is coming at them.
A good example of this will be at Far Hills Avenue and Schantz. When you go to cross Schantz at the Far Hills Avenue intersection the proposed sidewalk ramp will angle out toward Far Hills and at the widest section of the street. Why is this? The pedestrian will not want to walk into the Far Hills Avenue traffic. They will just be attempting to get to the other side of Schantz Avenue as quickly and safely as possible.
Curb radii need to be minimized as much as possible, curb extensions should be explored if there is on street parking, and sidewalk ramps should be at the narrowest crossing of the road that is possible and not angled outward.
I hope that other concerned citizens will contact our elected officials and demand that pedestrian safety be a priority when it comes to the Sugar Camp development. There will be a council meeting on March 5 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss this proposed subdivision.
Sincerely,
R.D. Trent
Oakwood
I observed a very disturbing safety situation the morning of Friday, Jan. 26, after I dropped my children off at Smith Elementary School. A parent made an illegal right turn disregarding posted signs clearly marked for the safety of all children. Living in Oakwood one would assume that all parents are able to read; apparently this is not the case. If this parent can read then their child must be so special that rules don’t apply to them I would appreciate a call if you recognize yourself so you can educate me on how to become a better parent. I must be doing something wrong when I try to teach my children that the rules are there for everyone. Just do one thing for me though; next time you disobey the traffic signs like you did today, please make sure that it is not my child that you run over!
Lisa Cain
Oakwood
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