News Summary

OXFORD — Of all the parties wrestling over a planned road to connect U.S. 27 and Ohio 73 southeast of Oxford, the city itself is the least united.

Mayor Prue Dana backs the plan. "The fact that these huge trucks come into town and make 90 degree turns ... and have students crossing the way they do is incredible," she said. "If we had 30 to 40 trucks in a day that didn't have to make that turn, that would be great."

But Dana praised all the parties for approaching the problem with an open mind. If the City Council votes down the connector, she said she's confident officials will find an amenable alternative.

Councilman Doug Ross is against the connector. "I support the preservation of natural areas," Ross said.

Ross said a group of governments in northwest Butler County approved the "under-vetted" connector at the last minute in 2003.

Since then, Ross has decided that other improvements — including banning freshmen students from driving on campus and more enforcement of speed limits — would go further to fix traffic problems in the city.

Councilman Greig Rutherford said he's on the fence.

"I certainly understand and appreciate the fact that there is a genuine safety issue," he said. "I also am concerned about the fact that there is an environmental issue, and that there is also a property rights issue with regard to the people who would be directly affected by this."

It's unclear whether the majority of council supports the connector as proposed. City officials are scrambling to find a meeting date where all council members will be present to make a decisive vote, assuming the Butler County Planning Commission grants a requested one-month extension.

"We'll have this figured out by the end of September," Dana said.