The City of Hilliard Sustainability Plan

Hilliard Sustainability PlanECON. EXECUTIVELAND USE DEV.SOCIAL SUMMARY& URBAN EQ.ECOLOGYtravel within Hilliard itself or to other regional destinations. Hilliard’sComprehensive Plan discusses the need for expanding COTAservices within Hilliard, but it does not provide any details of wherethe City needs new routes, bus stops or facilities. 165 COTA’s LongRange Transit Plan acknowledges the need for more frequent andconvenient services, more crosstown circulation, and suburb-tosuburbbus services as well as expanded services to accommodatesecond- and third-shift workers. COTA is planning to establish newcrosstown routes along Cemetery Road and Hilliard-Rome Roadconnecting to Dublin and Upper Arlington, but there are no plans for newlocal routes within Hilliard or any details on potential LINK routes whichservice the local community. 166 To accomplish their vision of being a lifelongcommunity, Hilliard must consider providing alternate modes of transit toserve individuals who cannot drive or who choose not to use a car. Increasingpublic transit options will increase mobility for all residents and all typesof people.Short Term (1-3 years)» The City should continue to foster a good relationship with COTAthrough their board of trustee’s member and City staff to facilitateopen communication and cooperation on future projects. Thiscould include attendance at any regional COTA planning meetingsor one-on-one coordination meetings between the City and COTA.Parties responsible: Engineering and Planning staff. Cost: Negligible.Medium Term (3-5 years)» The Engineering and Planning staff should conduct an in-depthtransit study to determine what the demand for additional transitservices is within the City. This should include a survey and charrettewith residents, and the City can post fliers at all bus stop locationsin addition to publishing the survey and charrette informationthrough the local media to get maximum visibility of the study. Thestudy should identify what time of day people commute to work,what time second-or third-shift commuters are traveling, whereresidents might want services to on weekends or for special eventssuch as sporting events or concerts, where are services for theelderly and disabled lacking within Hilliard, and what other areasdo residents commute to other than downtown Columbus. Partiesresponsible: The staff could conduct the study themselves and84» Map 3.11. COTA Services in HilliardData Sources: City of Hilliard, 2011; COTA, 2011