Regional planners present State Route 161 corridor plan; council urged to align land uses and fund thoroughfare study

Jamie Green of Planning Next and Holly Matei of Crossroads Community Planning told Dublin City Council that a multi-jurisdiction group is working to align land-use maps and prepare coordinated inputs for transportation and utility planning across a roughly 3,000-acre stretch along State Route 161. The consultants said planners from eight jurisdictions have produced a recommended future land-use map and character areas and that alignment is necessary for accurate demand modeling and funding applications.

Jamie Green said the corridor requires new network connections and utility coordination to avoid severe levels of service failures at intersections in future build conditions. Holly Matei described proposed "conservation mixed residential" areas that preserve roughly 50% open space to protect the Big Darby watershed and noted overlapping jurisdictional entitlements that must be reconciled. Council members asked about mechanisms for binding collaboration, utility-service allocations across county lines, and shared funding for a Morpsey-modeled thoroughfare study; several council members signaled support for amending Dublins community plan to reflect the groups aligned land-use recommendations and for cost-sharing the transportation study.