Bexley is a landlocked community of 2.5 square miles with approximately 48 miles of public roadway. The two main arterial roads in the city are continuations of major Columbus roadways. East Main Street, which serves as the main commercial district in the city, carries U.S. Route 40 (the National Road) through the southern end of the city, while East Broad Street, a residential street, carrier Ohio State Route 16. While E. Broad Street is primarily residential, the roadway is also the location of the Columbus School for Girls, one of the largest and most prominent private schools in the region. E. Main Street, the commercial corridor, is also features the main entrance to Capital University, a private college, and the Trinity Lutheran Seminary.
Planning has been a central element of the work that the City of Bexley has undertaken over the past 24 years to make the improvements throughout the city. For example, the Main Street Design Guide, development of which began in 2000, established a set of design guidelines to ensure that new buildings, additions, and renovations along the roadway maintain and improved the character, function, and livability of the corridor.
The second of the 12 stated goals of the design guide was to make Main Street a pedestrian-friendly and aesthetically pleasing place to be where people wish to stroll along the street, shop, visit, and relax.
The development of both the Main Street Design Guide and the streetscape plan culminated in the 2012 with the year-long Main Street improvement plan known as the ‘Bexley Mile’. Utilizing $1.8 million in funds generated from tax increment financing, or TIF, the city undertook the years-long work of making the main commercial artery of the city more pedestrian friendly. This work involved:
Uniformity in street signage
Installation of brick crosswalks
Addition of hanging plants and new landscaping at key intersections
Islands constructed along various points on Main Street designed to improve the visual appearance of the roadway and assist in the slowing down of traffic along the busy corridor
Main Street in Bexley in June, 2012 before the street was redesigned to add traffic calming islands. Image via Google Maps
Main Street in Bexley in October, 2022 after the street was redesigned to add traffic calming islands. Image via Google Maps
By 2019, city leaders once again began the process of developing another plan to guide the work of meeting the vision of a more walkable city. Over a two-year period, which included the pandemic year of 2020, city leaders and residents worked to develop the Bicycle Friendly Bexley Plan, which the city adopted in 2021 to enhance bicycle safety throughout the community. Working with Toole Design, a plan was submitted to city council for feedback, and following minor revisions, the plan was approved.
The plan calls for a number of infrastructure improvements, along with recommendations to both encourage more bike use and educational campaigns to promote rider safety.
Since the adoption of the plan in 2021, Bexley has continued to make progress on fulfilling the goals of the plan, though as evidenced by the earlier work on Main Street, the work to achieve all of the stated goals will take time. The city now maintains a website, bexley.org/bikefriendly with updates on the status of implementing the plan.
Learn more about the ongoing work in Bexley on our Good Ideas! page.
To learn more about GOPC’s ongoing advocacy around Active Transportation, be sure to check out of AT webpage and sign-up for our AT Newsletter.