Residents appreciate student input

By THOMAS V. BONA
Goshen News Staff Writer

Call it Goshen Highways 101.

Residents watched computer-enhanced presentations about options for U.S. 33 made by Ball State University urban planning students Wednesday night in the Goshen Public Library auditorium.

For many of the almost , it was a good opportunity to take a step back from a heated discussion and listen to insights made by an outside party.

"It's hard for us to get outside our box; these guys were never in it," Goshen resident Michael Dragoo said afterward. "It's refreshing to have some more opinions."

Dennis Koehn, a member of the Goshen Plan Commission and Goshen resident, said, "I thought very creative work was done to provide thoughtful options to us."

The 17 students and two professors came to Goshen in February at the invitation of the Old Town Neighborhood Association, a neighborhood group formed last year in opposition to the proposed widening of U.S. 33 along Madison Street.

Goshen officials funded half of the students' expenses as a way to ensure impartiality. While they were in Goshen, they talked with residents and area government officials. They have also collected information from other sources, such as the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Ken Impala, a member of the neighborhood group, said, "I think those folks did a wonderful job. It just goes to show that the old fogies in the government don't have all the answers."

Scott Truex, associate professor of urban planning at BSU, said the students did not come back to Goshen to bring answers but to open up options and raise more questions for discussion.

"That's fine," Administrative City Engineer Bob McCoige said, adding that while he appreciated the data presented, he didn't think any brand-new ideas were discussed.

"If I went back through all the paperwork, most of these options have been discussed already," he said.

Carol Impala, a member of the neighborhood association's executive committee, appreciated the attention students provided to long-range planning.

"We have to have a complete plan ... before we start doing things willy-nilly," she said, adding that elements of several options could be incorporated into the final project.

She said she liked the way the "no build" option was presented as a way to improve traffic on Madison Street and in her neighborhood without removing buildings.

Koehn said he appreciated the way the widening proposal was presented as a way to enhance the safety and aesthetics of the area rather than as a liability.

He questioned the cost of each option, which the students made little reference to. Koehn believes a bypass would be the most costly solution.

Nancy Eckelbarger, a neighborhood association member, said she thought the cost would be worth it and that the bypass options presented intrigued her because she thinks they would make the downtown more pedestrian-friendly.

Dragoo said he thought the traffic problems stem from local residents driving to commercial areas on the edges of the city.

"If we can believe the (Goshen Destination Study), the problem is me," he said. "Any amount of widening isn't going to change the fact that I'm on the road."

McCoige was concerned that students implied that several options, such as "no build" and a "north connector route," have been totally ruled out by INDOT, which is currently studying the environmental implications of several options.

"None of these things have been dismissed yet," McCoige said. "Nothing can be decided until the environmental assessment is done."

The assessment's results are expected to be announced in another four to five months, McCoige said. He added that residents interested in the project's future should attend public meetings that will be held after that point.