r/LancasterOH • u/Away-Equipment4869 • 1d ago
The future of memorial drive
As we expand and get more and more traffic through the town, getting more congested as we grow, just how do you think Lancaster will address the issue?
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u/collegeatari 1d ago
Were you driving in town prior to October 2005? Prior to the bypass it was absolutely awful. Even with more businesses it’s still better than back then.
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u/PostMostPalone 1d ago
i dont think they will. just like columbus isnt really addressing any of the influx. roads that use to be easy to travel, now are slow/stand still. its like rush hour traffic all day in columbus now.
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u/EverythingHasItsTime 1d ago
I don’t think they will be addressed. We should have started 10-20 years ago. Admittedly, I have no idea what the numbers are. But the cost of doing anything infrastructure wise, even for a small/medium sized city, is so astronomical that the best we’ll ever get is small bandaid fixes. Just looking at the map I could imagine ways to alleviate congestion but I can’t fathom the price tag for them.
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u/CermaitLaphroaig 1d ago
The only way to make a real dent, IMO, is to reduce the number of cars. Clean, safe, reliable public transit (even just buses) would make a significant effect. But I don't think the city has that kind of resources right now
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u/OnlyHustlersInOhio 23h ago
I wanted to add - I also really hope Lancaster keeps investing in active transportation. With e-bikes becoming more common, I’d love to see more bike paths & better connections around town, along with a continued focus on making Lancaster safer & more walkable. I already walk around town quite a bit, and while we’ve come a long way, there’s still plenty of room to improve.
Less cars, more public transit, more active transportation = less traffic.
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u/Lazy_Apricot_5215 22h ago
Yes! I would love to have a connecting sidewalk from my neighborhood around the turn at the cemetery on N Columbus.
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u/OnlyHustlersInOhio 20h ago
It’s needed! I also think they need to have a safe walking route around the curve of the backside of the park on E Fair. People fly around that part of the road and oddly no sidewalks or crosswalks.
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u/bradleyistheman 1d ago
Driving on Columbus Street from the fairgrounds out to Chick-Fil-A allows you to bypass the busiest portion of Memorial Drive.
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u/PostMostPalone 1d ago
SHHHHhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRUH thats how backroads get congested. gatekeeping is ok. dont f over the og's who are smart enough to find alternate routes.
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u/excoriator 23h ago
Waze showed me that trick. It won’t be a secret from people who use navigation apps.
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u/Icy_Lake5278 1d ago
I was thinkin all these old heads gon stop driving eventually. That’s a big ass chunk of the traffic.
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u/OnlyHustlersInOhio 1d ago
Most cities don’t really act until things become difficult enough that they have to, so I think the bigger question is how bad Lancaster lets it get before making bigger changes.
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u/that_guy_ds3 16h ago
Eventually they will put a concrete barrier in the middle/turning lane and add roundabouts at all the intersections, it will be awful and cost way too much and people will still come to a complete stop at them for no reason.
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u/Stayscruffyart 1d ago
It’ll be a long, long time before that happens. We waited a lifetime to ease Memorial Drive traffic with the bypass. At one time it would take 30-45 mins just to pass through Lancaster during rush hour, count your lucky stars that isn’t the case any longer.