Columbus plans Walhalla Ravine fix, but does it put street fixes over stream solutions?
Clintonville's Walhalla Ravine is a tranquil, tree-lined setting, with a winding creek and bicyclists, pedestrians and the occasional motorist traversing the one-way roadway running along it down the hill.
Residents who live in the ravine and nearby feel very protective of it, some even a bit territorial.
That's why a city plan that officials say will restore the ravine and stabilize its banks has so many taking sides.
Residents will be able to weigh in on the design at a meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Whetstone Community Center, 3923 N. High St.
The meeting gives the wider Clintonville community a chance to ask questions and provide feedback on the design, said Alana Shockey, assistant director of sustainability for the city's Department of Public Utilities.
The city spent two years studying how the stream banks degraded. "After we studied it, we determined it is not a stable ecosystem," she said.
City officials say their plan to restore the banks will boost water quality by reducing sediments and other pollutants from entering Walhalla Creek, and ultimately the Olentangy River, because of bank erosion.
They are considering building a retaining wall and guardrail along part of the ravine between Clinton Heights and East Longview avenues. The city's plan also calls for removing 10 18-inch trees and one large 48-inch tree.
"Is a guardrail needed? Is a retaining wall needed?" Shockey said.
"No final decisions have been made in those areas," she said. City officials plan to finish a final design by the end of June, with construction beginning in fall 2024. The estimated cost of construction was $2.1 million, according to a November 2023 city email.
Laura Fay of the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed said the proposed retaining wall reminds her of the sound walls along Interstate 71.
"It's going to change the ambience," Fay said.
The city has no plans to close Walhalla Road. But some residents would like to see the city consider turning at least part of the road into a pedestrian path, with others suggesting part of it be closed to vehicular traffic.
The Save the Walhalla Ravine group believes that the city's plan concentrates too much on the road improvements and not enough with restoring the stream to prevent pollution.
"Our primary concern is it’s not really a restoration plan for the ravine," said Barb Poppe, one of the leaders of the Save the Walhalla Ravine group who lives on a nearby street.
Her group says that 75% of the project's cost goes toward work related to the road. "All of that is to benefit motor vehicles," she said, not those who walk ravine.
"What the focus should be on is reducing the flow of the water into the ravine," Poppe said.
Poppe wondered whether the road could be changed.
"Right now, it’s a one-way road. Why not make it one lane?" she said, creating another lane for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Poppe's husband, Bill Faith, called the city's plan "narrow-minded."
"How will this impact the hundreds of pedestrians that use that strip of road every day?" Faith asked.
Save the Walhalla Ravine volunteers spent the weekend in the ravine talking to people and encouraging them to attend Wednesday's meeting. They also tied orange ribbons around trees to be removed and others in the right-of-way, volunteer Beth Lonn said.
Amelia Menk-Brown and her husband, David Brown, have lived on Walhalla Road for 12 years.
Menk-Brown said that heavy rains create a lot of storm water that scours her property. "We have lost linear feet," she said.
"We're looking at the city to resolve the underlying problem," she said, while preserving the natural beauty the ravine.
"There's enormous erosion undercutting the roadway, falling into the creek," Menk-Brown said.
She said city officials have sought her and her husband's input about the work, and have adjusted their plan to limit the amount of impact to their property.
Menk-Brown said there is no doubt that bicyclists and pedestrians love to use the ravine. But she said she would hate to see the roadway narrowed and put them closer to vehicles driving on it.
David Brown said residents have been talking to city officials for several years, and while it hasn't been a perfect process he believes the conversations have been open and collaborative.
Amelia Menk-Brown said she thinks it's great that so many people are interested in the project. "It requires the city to listen," she said.
"I think that we absolutely love the ravine. That's why we live there," Menk-Brown said. "Neighborhood and community members appreciate it. We feel very obliged to be good stewards of the ravine."
"It’s supposed to look good," she said. "We all want this to be great."
mferench@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus faces street v. stream dilemma in Walhalla Ravine fix
