Is the Mason boom over?

[unusualfire]

^Maybe but you can blame Mason for approving the new cinema.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by unusualfire

^Maybe but you can blame Mason for approving the new cinema.

No you can't, because it is in Deerfield Township which approves anything that looks like it can bring them a dime.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

No you can't, because it is in Deerfield Township which approves anything that looks like it can bring them a dime.

LOL, now that's the pot calling the kettle black.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

LOL, now that's the pot calling the kettle black.

Well, if you don't think I am right, just look at the horrible mess around the I-71 interchange at Fields Ertel/Mason Montgomery Roads, which is all Deerfield Township.

Yes, Mason did annex quite a number of parcels of land from Deerfield Township, most all of them which were farms requested by the owners for annexation as the city services, water, sewer, fire protection, road maintenance, etc. made the land more valuable for subdivision development. But the law actually upholds the rights of a land owner to request annexation to an adjoining incorporated entity. Unlike what has sometime been contended I do not know of any circumstance where Mason solicited property owners to annex. As long as the property is immediately adjacent to the incorporated entity, the county is virtually required to grant annexation.

Several years ago, there was a movement by a citizens group to try and incorporate the remainder of Deerfield Township into a band new city. It eventually fell apart, but for while appeared to maybe have a chance. The uncertainties around what funding problems a new city may encounter and the resulting taxes so concerned Kings Island they applied for annexation to Mason which they considered a more known entity.

If Mason has done anything wrong it is to have managed the growth within the city and the sevices provided to such a degree property owners saw a chance to increase the value of their property for development and requested annexation.

And yes, I do know of times when Mason has turned down development. Right smack in the center of the city is a long standing golf course which was called Western Row. The owners decided it was becoming unprofitable and had struck a deal to sell it to a developer who planned a commercial retail plus high density condo development. The city refused to rezone saying it did not conform to the existing master plan. They were upheld. The golf course did shutdown and then the real estate market tanked. The land is a rather unsightly weed field, but at least the city stuck to their plan instead of the easy revenue.

To cite another example of township driven congestion, look at the I-75 and Tylersville Rd interchange plus the new Liberty Way interchange immediately to the north. If the huge proposed Liberty Town Square is permitted is go through it will make the I-71/Fields Ertel area look well planned. The Liberty Township Trustees have already approved initial funding for the development.

[unusualfire]

I actually saw a bit of construction going on in Mason the other day. Non residential along I-71. Did they kill the exit ramp at Western row? I noticed some building is being built along right near where the exit ramp was going to be.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by unusualfire

I actually saw a bit of construction going on in Mason the other day. Non residential along I-71. Did they kill the exit ramp at Western row? I noticed some building is being built along right near where the exit ramp was going to be.

That new building you see is for Seapine Software, a tech software development company, just one of several bringing good jobs to Mason.

I have not heard anything concerning the proposed ramp for some time. I hope it has been killed, since with the existing ramp feeding Kings Island Drive any new south bound exit and north bound entrance ramps would just create a mess like the Fields Ertel interchange and we don't need another one of those.

The existing interchange further north at Kings Mills Rd seems to serve the needs for traffic to and from the north on I-71 just fine. Ohio 741 (Kings Mills Rd) is also the conduit for much of the Dayton area traffic to and from Kings Island. We definitely notice the increase in volume each year when Kings Island opens.

Commercial traffic has been discouraged on Tylersville Rd, which becomes Western Row Rd very close to I-71. When Mason extended and widened Tylersville Rd to make it the major connector between I-71 and I-75 in the area many residents feared it would become a commercial (truck) nightmare. Thankfully this has not happened, the planners were correct, the speed limit plus the umpteen traffic lights on Tylersville between I-75 and I-71 would discourage over the road truckers who would prefer to take the longer I-275 route. I observe relatively light big truck traffic on Tylersville other than those directly serving Mason businesses.

The Fields Ertel interchange to me is hopeless. It was a design nightmare from the beginning, and now that businesses have filled in all of the property surrounding it any meaningful redesign would be prohibitively expensive and difficult to execute without intolerable disruptions to traffic.

What needs to be considered is a totally new I-71 interchange at Irwin Simpson Rd. There would be some associated land acquisition costs, but at a far lower value than reworking Fields Ertel. Irwin Simpson itself would need improvements for an increased traffic volume, but hey that is what happens. Such an interchange could serve the Landen area and the commercial districts of Deerfield Twp along Mason Montgomery Rd. Anything which takes the pressure off of the Fields Ertel interchange is a plus.

There is always a fight when it is proposed to widen and enhance existing roads. The Tylersville Rd extension in Mason is a prime example. The road it replaced, Stitt Rd was a very narrow two-lane country road. BTW, many GPS and mapping directives still direct people to take Stitt Rd here locally, where you find yourself at a dead end, since Stitt Rd has been cut off at both ends and what is left is about a 1/4 mile old neighborhood cross street. Western Row Rd is another example. For years it was a narrow 2 lane road, basically what is called a section road.

BTW - a section was an area of land one square mile, which is 640 acres. A township was 36 sections.
Section roads where of course roads which followed the boundary of the section which had been subdivided into farms. An area like Mason had several old section roads, most of which never had a real road base constructed but which were just layer upon layer of overfill, from dirt to gravel to asphalt to more asphalt.

Western Row Rd in Mason has been under going reconstruction and widening. It is a much better and more attractive road. However, some of the original residences along the road have lost property to permit the widening. Understandably this rankles people. But when the original involved no real planning, just growth by hit-skip, there comes a time when hard decisions need to be made to avoid pure chaos.

The same type of thinking goes into the I-71 ramps at Western Row Rd. The original thinking was only foscused on serving Kings Island, which they do very well. Now, some seem to feel Mason must have southbound exit and northbound entrance ramps there also. I disagree and would have to see decided traffic study projections to convince me they are necessary. I have not seen such a study with any data to substantiate the claims. And even then, there must be an associated loss of revenue to the city of Mason before I will agree they are necessary.