Clintonville Area Commission

Morse-Bethel Connector

For over three decades, there has been debate about building a bridge over the Olentangy River to connect Morse and Bethel roads. Morse Road is located in the northern portion of Clintonville. Morse Road is located within District 7, 8 and 9 of the Clintonville Area Commission.

Connector History:
In 1968, a public vote on a referendum prohibiting the City of Columbus from undertaking any engineering studies of a Morse-Bethel connector was held. The referendum was approved by the voters thus removing the option of connecting the two roads.

In November of 1994, a citizens initiative to place a proposed Morse-Bethel connector on the Columbus ballot was ruled by the Franklin County Board of Elections to be non-compliant with city charter provisions requiring notarization of circulator's signatures. This initiative was therefore not allowed to appear on the ballot.

In July of 1998, the group Citizens for Growth Through Cooperation completed a successful petition drive to place the a new Morse-Bethel connector initiative on the November ballot. This initiative called for the building of a connector by utilizing Rathbone Avenue. This route would have destroyed approximately 40 homes. This proposal was defeated with approximately 60% of the voters in Columbus voting against the initiative.

MORPC Study Criteria:
In July of 1998, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) was asked to undertake a comprehensive study of alternative connections, including the ballot option. A "no-build" option was also considered.

The MORPC study had several elements:
Public involvement.
Alternative identification.
Public policy consistency review.
Neighborhood review of social issues and impacts on neighborhoods impacted by each alternative.
Environmental analysis and issues development.
Land use and economic review to project traffic volumes and impacts on land use by each alternative.
Traffic review to assess the impact on traffic and changes in accident numbers for each alternative.
Cost of construction, right-of-way acquisition and relocation review and estimation.

MORPC Recommendation:
The MORPC Morse-Bethel Connector Study recommended a Graceland North to High Street connection. This connection would bring Bethel Road across the Olentangy River into the Graceland Shopping Center. The roadway would continue through Graceland and terminate at North High Street.

Contact MORPC for additional information about the MORPC Morse-Bethel Connector Study.
MORPC Web site – Morse-Bethel Study
Telephone: (614) 228-2663
CAC Position & Actions:
The Clintonville Area Commission has developed a series of community meetings and work groups within the Graceland Redevelopment Task Force to study ways to help the owners of the Graceland Shopping Center redevelop its location. Direct discussion of any connector option is not a part of this task force discussion.

Currently, the City of Columbus, Department of Trade and Development Director George Arnold has been instructed by Mayor Gregory Lashutka to explore the Graceland connector option. In addition, the majority of land, which would carry a Graceland Morse-Bethel connector, is privately owned. It is with these facts that the CAC made its determination not to engage in a discussion of a Graceland Morse-Bethel connector at this time. Our focus is to help develop a site plan for the redevelopment of Graceland Shopping Center.

For information regarding the Graceland Redevelopment Task Force, contact CAC District 1 Commissioner Brian Rothenberg.