The West Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization held an open house Monday at the Ohio Department of Transportation District 1 office in Lima to show some of its long-term rural transportation plans for the region, including Auglaize and Putnam counties.
Craig Kelly | The Lima News
LIMA — When it comes to the changing landscape of rural transportation, engineers and civic planners are widening their scope, both in their future planning and, in some cases, even in the width of the roadways themselves.
The West Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization held an open house event Monday at the Ohio Department of Transportation District 1 office in Lima, giving the public the opportunity to see what transportation-related projects have been proposed for the future and what the general vision is for rural transportation not just in the short term, but over decades.
“This long-range plan we’ve put together is a 20-year outlook,” WORPO manager and senior planner Colleen Barry said. “In the end, if it is accepted, the government will designate these areas as an RTPO, and being a member of a transportation planning organization will give some of these counties access to funding.”
The counties involved in this process are Auglaize, Hancock, Mercer, Putnam, Van Wert and Wyandot counties, and having this collaborative approach through WORPO will help each of them not only get a clearer sense of how to address their own rural transportation needs but it will also help show opportunities for collaboration across county lines, according to Barry.
“This is the generalized framework that helps integrate them into more regional goals,” she said. “At the same time, there are specific plan projects for active transportation, sidewalks and bike paths that they want to see happen within communities.”
One common thread Barry has seen across county lines involves widening already existing roads in order to accommodate farm equipment and other vehicles.
“We want to be able to sustain that load along with regular traffic coming through,” she said.
After Monday’s open house, WORPO will finish its draft for its long-range transportation plan, which will then be posted on the Lima Allen County Regional Planning Commission’s website, https://bit.ly/3XJWrRv to allow for public view and comment. Barry anticipates the draft to be completed sometime in November.
