By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The voice of a neighborhood enacted change to an alley that has been a point of contention for two decades.
The Bucyrus Traffic Commission met Monday afternoon after residents on Virginia and Kaler avenues and Wise Street protested turning their alley into a dead end. The citizens turned out in force for the meeting as they aired their grievances over their neighbor, Richard Johnson, and the 90-day trial that would see barriers and dead end signs going up.
“We heard you at council. Let’s talk about it,” Mayor Jeff Reser said to open the meeting.
Barb Pritchard, who has led the fight over the alley with Johnson since 2004, questioned why they were back to this point when it was addressed in 2015.
“There’s a lot of alleys that are a lot worse than ours,” Pritchard said of the stone alley that runs from Center Street to Kaler Avenue to Wise Street. “I don’t understand why it hasn’t been paved, why it hasn’t been made up right to the easement. Things have been taken down. I don’t know why we are here now.”
Police Chief Dave Koepke acknowledged the ongoing issue with Johnson, who claims part of the alley as his despite evidence to the contrary.
“It’s been going on for 20 years or more – back to the 90s,” said Koepke.
According to the police chief, the alley may have subtly changed over the years due to the traffic pattern, movement of gravel, and growing grass. He suggested clearly delineating the alley to curb further arguments that have risen as a result of Johnson’s claims.
“If we could mark it in some way so there’s no question at all where the alley is. That way if the Johnson vehicle has wheels on the alley, the officer looks, it’s on the alley, he’s giving him a parking ticket,” Koepke proposed. “We have told him for 20 years that it is an alley, it’s not his driveway. But if I tell him today, he’ll tomorrow come to me and say, ‘it’s my driveway.’”
The alley effects 16 properties and the majority of residents favor use for everyone. The issue at hand is not only Johnson claiming part of the alley as his, but also how he treats his neighbors and the abundance of calls he makes to police to handle exaggerated matters.
Law Director Rob Ratliff noted that the city has charges pending against Johnson, including criminal damaging after Johnson pulled up the city’s survey markers without permission. After hearing complaints from the residents of Johnson yelling at them, harassing them, and tossing steak knives, glass, roofing nails, and bricks into the alley, Koepke said it may be possible for the neighbors to file restraining orders against him.
“I don’t travel that alley fast – I’ve never seen fast traffic coming in and out of that alley. But I have been approached by Mr. Johnson many, many times, and I want it to stop,” Pritchard said. “They have threatened me. I’m afraid I’m going to have an accident because of them. It has to stop. It has to stop with them. Don’t punish us for them.”
“It’s just like a bully in school basically,” added Ryan Hoepf. “I would hope the city wouldn’t condone, support, or reward that type of behavior.”
Council member Bill O’Rourke argued in favor of the residents that signed the petition against making the alley a dead end.
“Traffic should be able to get through any alley. What determines what is unwanted traffic? Why doesn’t anyone have a right to go down any alley that is navigable?” he asked.
“The whole problem is we’re trying to please one person,” O’Rourke said before gesturing to those citizens in the audience. “This is your community. These are the people that live there. These are the people who have the right to use that as much as one person does.”
Council President Sis Love questioned if the city could add paving the alley to the 2017 Mill and Pave project, noting that the city was typically under budget when the project ended. Service/Safety Director Jeff Wagner said he would get the cost of paving the alley and bring it before council for approval.
The Traffic Commission voted to eliminate the 90-day trial that would have erected dead end signs and barricades.
“It feels wonderful. It feels like they’re really hearing our concerns. We have been battling, fighting this out since about 2001,” Pritchard said after the meeting.
She noted it was the first time since former mayor Roger Moore passed that things progressed.
“We thought we’d never be back to this point again,” Pritchard said. “It sounds wonderful. I hope we keep moving forward instead of backwards.”
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