Hi there,

 

I've been reading this site and I love the discussions on here. I'm a reporter for ThisWeek News, covering the southern Delaware County area (Olentangy School District is my boundary area) and I'm interested in hearing from some of the people who have been discussing this growing area.

 

What stories have we not covered that we should be covering? What stories are you sick of seeing? What have we gotten wrong? What have we done right?

 

Let me know. I am all ears (or eyes?).

 

--Kate Fazzini

Kate... welcome to the site! I am a former reporter myself.

 

A couple of suggestions on what needs to be covered or covered better:

 

1. The impact of rapid development (which Delaware County has certainly experienced) on the infrastructure, especially transportation.  A good source of information is Kim Gibson at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Council (MORPC).  She has an animated computer model of what growth and land use will be like over the next 20 years if we do nothing to improve and diversify our transportation system.... in other words, what happens if we don't start developing other options like intercity passenger rail, light rail transit, more and better bus service and a regional approach to mass transit (instead of the sorry excuse for transit we have at COTA).

 

2. The impact of that same development on our watersheds and wetlands:  such as the Olentangy, Scioto and other smaller creeks that feed into these rivers.  Darby Creek on Columbus' SW side gets much of the attention, but the Scioto and Olentangy are somewhat ignored but no less important.

 

You might want to check out these websites for some information resources and contacts:

 

One-Thousand Friends of Central Ohio (1KCO).....  http://1kco.org/

 

All Aboard Ohio (Rail & Transit Advocacy) .... http://www.ohioansforpassengerrail.com/cms/index.php

 

Ohio Rail Development Commission  ..... http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/

 

Welcome Kate,

 

Since it seems as though Delaware County is the heart of Columbus' sprawl (oxymoron?), I think an article on the impact of that sprawl would be interesting.  You could read this thread on "Suburbanites: what would draw you downtown?" as inspiration.

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7683.0

 

I think it would be interesting to hear the views of people who decide to commute over 45 minutes to Downtown Columbus, and why they choose to do so.  You could then provide the alternatives to them (live in close suburbs like Grandview, UA, German Village, etc...), use public transportation to avoid traffic (would they ride a light rail if they had the opportunity?), live near large public parks rather than have large yards, the importance of living in a walkable neighborhood, etc... 

On the softer, non-political side; histories of Olentangy River Rd (Oh 315), Old State Rd, the old Columbus-Delaware-Marion interurban, and the bridges of the Olentangy River would be neat to read as well.

 

Otherwise, I'm a Buckeye Valley alum.  Your beat doesn't go far enough north for me to be too concerned.  8-)

I think it would be interesting to hear the views of people who decide to commute over 45 minutes to Downtown Columbus, and why they choose to do so.  You could then provide the alternatives to them (live in close suburbs like Grandview, UA, German Village, etc...), use public transportation to avoid traffic (would they ride a light rail if they had the opportunity?), live near large public parks rather than have large yards, the importance of living in a walkable neighborhood, etc... 

 

I could give you my parents e-mail then.  My mom has been doing the 45-1 hr drive from Marengo to (first) Dublin then Easton for over 15 years now.  My dad, back in the 80s, drove from Marengo to the Brewery District because that was where Franklin Co. Children Services was based from back then.

Hell, I even drove from Marengo to OSU when I was student.