Cap City Savvy is writing about that big gash that separates downtown from German Village:

Am I being naive? I hope not, but the sad fact is that this project is almost 4 years behind schedule. I think we reached the “paralysis by analysis” stage way back in 2005.

That said, I’m glad they put the brakes on the project once they realized that city leaders and residents weren’t going to stand for uncapped freeways, or a wider divide. There’s been quite a bit of resentment towards the split since ODOT built that moat separating German Village and Old Towne East from Downtown in the 60’s.

ODOT has an article up:

ODOT TO SHARE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FIXING DOWNTOWN “SPLIT”

The Ohio Department of Transportation will hold public meetings in June to share its recommendations for narrowing the two options for rebuilding the Interstate 70/71 “Split” along the south side of downtown Columbus.

ODOT considers the highway one of the most congested, high-crash freeway locations in the state. It was built more than 40 years ago, and carries about 175,000 vehicles a day — about 50,000 more than the highway was designed to handle. As a result, the highway experiences about two crashes each day or 800 a year.

For the past six months, the Department has been comparing two alternatives — Mound/Fulton and Livingston/Fulton — to determine which option does a better job of improving safety and travel with fewer negative impacts to the public.

The ODOT site has maps, a pdf presentation, and is taking comments. There will be two public meetings:

WHEN & WHERE:

June 11 and 13
Open House from 5 to 7 p.m.
Columbus Health Department Auditorium
240 Parsons Avenue (corner of Parsons and Main)
Free parking in rear

Also at RetroMetro.

Caps like the one connecting the Short North to downtown are not a part of ODOT’s plans. This will apparently be a discretionary matter to be decided later. Moving the on and off ramps is a good idea, but any solution that doesn’t address reconnecting the city above is only half a solution. Here’s a 2003 post from City Comforts on the Short North cap:

You say big deal: a city street. Exactly. But it is a city street which is crossing a freeway. I say, yes it is a very big deal.

The American freeways changed the world through which they ran. They facilitated a vast expansion of suburbs and ripped asunder many city neighborhoods. The project… started out, in the mind of the Ohio Highway Department as a simple widening of the I-670 as it rolls through Columbus, Ohio. But the adjoining neighborhoods put up a fight. (This is my casual from-a-distance understanding of what happened.)

The compromise proposed by some local genius was to make the new overpass (neccesitated by the wider freeway) into a city street by lining it with shops to “link rather than divide.” It is under construction now.

In terms of the daily lives of potentially millions, this is architecture at its finest. This is significant, this is meaningful. This is re-building, re-forming the world. Starchitects might well pay attention.

We need that on the south side of downtown too.

Remember that string of home invasions in German Village where the thugs forced people into their basements, stripped them, and tied them up? Well one of these guys, Marquis Hairston, was sentenced to 134 years in prison. But he’s not going for that:

The Ohio Supreme Court decided on Wednesday that it would hear Hairston’s appeal that his sentence was cruel and unjust.

Hairston is one of three men convicted of terrorizing the German Village area in the fall of 2005.

Hairston was sentenced for committing several violent home invasions….

…Franklin County Judge Julie Lynch sentenced Hairston to more than a lifetime behind bars and stood by her decision on Wednesday.

It could be several months before the Supreme Court reaches a decision….

So is 134 years too much? There are few crimes more provocative than home invasions. But to be nice, I could go along with just 99 years.

Closed Barrett Middle School, on the edge of German Village, is being considered as a “swing space” for students from South High School while that building undergoes a $25m renovation:

South parents and staff said they are concerned about students being moved to a closed building that needs a lot of repair, and has restrooms only on the lowest level. But Olshavsky said the district has about $500,000 in available funds, partially matched by the state, to do necessary renovations.

Planned are eight new restrooms, two on each of the four levels, an enhanced security system, a repaired or new roof and a fresh coat of paint.

Harris said she also would “find the funds” for dugouts at the baseball and softball fields at Barrett, where South already plays its games. South alumni and coaches have wanted those for years, said Mike Wiles, a South alum and South Side activist.

If it’s determined that the Barrett upgrade will cost to much, however, the plan may fall through.

The German Village Commission will be handing out its annual awards next Wednesday.

Last year awards were given for a wide variety of work: the total restoration of a Kossuth Street house, the restoration of front porches on two Sycamore Street houses, the very successful and first-ever Village Lights event by the German Village Business Committee, and the dedicated and diligent work of the city Code Enforcement Officer whose area includes German Village.

The Cup O’Joe on S Third St in German Village wants to transform into another MoJoe Lounge- these are open late and serve alcohol and cooked food, in addition to all the coffee stuff. The plan is to take over the space next door and turn the small parking lot into an outdoor patio.

Residents and the German Village Commission are of course concerned about parking and noise. More at the ThisWeek. (Via RetroMetro.)

It’s long seemed to me that Third Street needs more destinations like this one. German Village lacks a center. But I guess most people who live on Third might disagree.