An Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) project to replace the crosswalks in Hillsboro at the Main and High streets intersection and include new high-visibility crosswalks and center median refuge islands was met with criticism from local business owners during a Hillsboro City Council meeting Thursday before a resolution for the project was passed by council.

Rachelle Trefz, owner of Merle Norman Cosmetics in Hillsboro, asked if there has been any research done about how much the midway crosswalks in the area are used. “I have made it a point this week to watch my window … and I’ve literally seen this crosswalk used once,” she said. “So, we’re going to take away 15 parking spots that are used day in and day out for these crosswalks that have very little use.”

Trefz asked that taking out the midway crosswalks be reconsidered. She said that an uptown parking project elsewhere managed by ODOT in 2022 is being torn down. “ODOT doesn’t always have all the answers,” she said. “This project is going to be completely reversed, and you can call the city of Wilmington and talk to the mayor. He’s had a lot of dealings with ODOT, and he’s doing what’s best for his uptown.”

Another uptown Hillsboro business owner said, “I have customers calling me every week telling me that they can’t pick up their orders because there’s no parking spots. I’m already taking measures to move out of here because I don’t trust that you guys are going to make a good decision.”

Yet another local business owner said, “There is a lot of employees that park right in front of my business all day long, so right now, I’m actually looking at considering either relocating to another city or I might have to already close. It’s not even been a year yet that I’ve been here, and it’s the number one complaint we get from customers constantly, that there’s no place to park.”

In response, city council president Tom Eichinger said, “There is action being looked at in one of our committees for setting time limits on parking and enforcing it.”

Uptown business owner Steve Wilkin asked if city officials have determined the root cause of the pedestrian safety problems. “I’m not sure that you really have the root cause of the pedestrian issue,” he said. “Is there any data that you found, collected, analyzed and published as far as traffic issues involving pedestrians?”

Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Brianne Abbott referred Wilkin to an ODOT fact sheet about the project. “It says there’s been two occurrences of pedestrian injuries in the past five years and numerous other reports of near misses and safety concerns,” she said.

Wilkin replied, “So, you really don’t know what the specific problem you’re trying to solve is?”

“Mr. Wilkin, we’re not going to stand here or sit here and try to solve a problem as a group,” said Eichinger. “We’ve heard all of your input, and some action will be taken as the next step, and we’ll move forward, but the city used an agency that was specifically set up to handle traffic issues, and we worked with them, and the result is a proposal that we are looking at, and we are looking to move forward with it.”

Eichinger said he would not spend all of council’s time talking about what ifs. “If you would like to be involved in that kind of thing, I would suggest that you be hired by the city or run for office,” he said.

Prior to voting on the resolution for the project, council member Adam Wilkin said, “The loss of these parking spots has nothing to do with the crosswalk going in. They’re going to go away regardless because of the (Ohio Revised Code), so we need to make sure that everyone understands that the two aren’t tied together.” Wilkin said pedestrian safety takes precedence over any parking or traffic problems.

Council voted to pass the ODOT resolution with council members Jo Sanborn and Dan Baucher voting against it. Council member Greg Maurer was absent for the meeting.

Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.