Athens City Council members will continue to discuss a projected $6.1 million in improvements to East State Street — which would feature narrower lanes, sidewalks and bike lanes — Monday night.
Athens City Council President Chris Knisely said the construction was supposed to be completed this fall, but, after the city didn’t receive a construction bid within their budget, it was forced to rebid.
“It’s possible that the construction could be delayed until next spring,” Knisley said.
The improvements would also add signal, paving and traffic improvements near the U.S. Route 33 interchange, according to a previous Post report.
“A lot of studies out there have shown that narrower lanes will make drivers slow down,” Athens City Planner Paul Logue said in the previous Post report.
According to Logue, traffic on East State Street often exceeds speed limits, and adding bike lanes would narrow traffic lanes and help to alleviate speed.
Athens City Council members will also discuss creating an Affordable Housing Commission to oversee the implementation of recommendations given to the City of Athens and Ohio University by a task force last year.
The City of Athens/OU Affordable Housing Task Force submitted several recommendations to city and university officials in December, including recommendations to increase housing stock between the $125,000 to $250,000.
The recommendation report says student housing in Athens is reducing the value of non-student housing.
“The student housing market has artificially inflated the value of residential housing stock, reduces the availability of single family rental property and led to significant growth in multi-tenant student housing that has left a number of single family homes being abandoned or in disrepair within the Athens’ City limits,” the report reads.
Council members will also get an update on the Athens Police Department’s search for police body cameras, which has been ongoing since earlier this year, according to a previous Post report.
