Columbus, Ohio road meet: September 30, 2017

[Nikolai]

This meet will be on Saturday, September 30, with a retail meet on Sunday, October 1. We'll meet at 101 Beer Kitchen in Westerville at 11:30.

I've created a map of the potential routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing Feedback on the route is welcome.
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/



Hi, I'm Nikolai Nolan. I've attended a few road meets in Michigan, and my current home is Columbus. Here in central Ohio, there have been plenty of interesting road upgrades over the last few years, so I think it would be cool to host a meet here this fall.

Highlights would include:

• The northbound US-23 trench through Flint
• Ikea Way, the extension of Gemini Place in Polaris
• The Sawmill Parkway extension to Delaware
• The rebuilt I-270/US-33 west interchange

If you're interested in attending, vote in the above poll to help me choose a date. I selected weekends that don't conflict with Ohio State football games, to avoid the potential traffic caused by them.

Since I'm also a fan of malls and retail, I might try holding a retail meet the day before or after the road meet, touring historic, endangered, and innovative retail sights around Columbus. I'll do the planning for that on the prominent retail Facebook groups.

[okroads]

Hi, I'm Nikolai Nolan. I've attended a few road meets in Michigan, and my current home is Columbus. Here in central Ohio, there have been plenty of interesting road upgrades over the last few years, so I think it would be cool to host a meet here this fall.

Highlights would include:

• The northbound US-23 trench through Flint
• Ikea Way, the extension of Gemini Place in Polaris
• The Sawmill Parkway extension to Delaware
• The rebuilt I-270/US-33 west interchange

If you're interested in attending, vote in the above poll to help me choose a date. I selected weekends that don't conflict with Ohio State football games, to avoid the potential traffic caused by them.

Since I'm also a fan of malls and retail, I might try holding a retail meet the day before or after the road meet, touring historic, endangered, and innovative retail sights around Columbus. I'll do the planning for that on the prominent retail Facebook groups.

Any date works for me, since I live a mile from the U.S. 23 trench and within 10-15 minutes of everything else on the list. I'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

[Buck87]

I'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

I remember seeing that as a kid, kinda surprised it's still there

[hbelkins]

There have been at least two Columbus meets in the past, neither of which I attended (overslept and was sick for one of them, and attended a conflicting meet in Kansas the other). Columbus is a four-hour drive from me and I would like to attend one at some point in the future. I'm not picking a date this far out, but would definitely be interested in attending. This would be an easy one. I could conceivably do it as a single-day trip if necessary, but probably would stay at least one night somewhere.

[Dougtone]

Looks like there will be a couple of Ohio meets this fall. I'm looking at hosting a meet in Ashtabula in the first half of November.

[7/8]

I'll be on co-op for the fall, so I might be able to make this meet (though Ashtabula would be closer for me). I'm happy that Canadian Thanksgiving isn't on the list of choices .

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

More highlights...
670-71 redux
315 -270 (on going construction)
Roberts Rd - 270

[vdeane]

Looks like there will be a couple of Ohio meets this fall. I'm looking at hosting a meet in Ashtabula in the first half of November.

Plus Toledo.  Three Ohio meets within that many months.

[noelbotevera]

No go. If it was a 2018 meet I could tie this in with a Cedar Point road trip (Mean Streak rehab).

[hbelkins]

Looks like there will be a couple of Ohio meets this fall. I'm looking at hosting a meet in Ashtabula in the first half of November.

Plus Toledo.  Three Ohio meets within that many months.

Is Toledo a done deal?

[cl94]

Looks like there will be a couple of Ohio meets this fall. I'm looking at hosting a meet in Ashtabula in the first half of November.

Plus Toledo.  Three Ohio meets within that many months.

Is Toledo a done deal?

First I've heard about Toledo.

That being said, Columbus would definitely be best for Columbus Day weekend if you want to maximize attendance. I don't think there's a meet scheduled for that weekend yet. I'll probably make it regardless.

[Nikolai]

I'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

670-71 redux
315 -270 (on going construction)
Roberts Rd - 270

Thanks, all of those are probable too. Feel free to suggest other sights, especially if it's on the south side, which I'm less familiar with.

Is Toledo a done deal?

It was mentioned in the 2017 Meets thread, but I haven't heard anything else about it since. If both Toledo and Ashtabula end up making the fall too crowded, I can pass on holding this one.

That being said, Columbus would definitely be best for Columbus Day weekend if you want to maximize attendance. I don't think there's a meet scheduled for that weekend yet.

It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

[cl94]

It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Having lived in Columbus, that would probably be the PERFECT time to be on the roads because nobody will be out from ~30 minutes beforehand until after the game ends.

[jeffandnicole]

It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Having lived in Columbus, that would probably be the PERFECT time to be on the roads because nobody will be out from ~30 minutes beforehand until after the game ends.

So, just 3 hours for a road meet? 

[cl94]

It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Having lived in Columbus, that would probably be the PERFECT time to be on the roads because nobody will be out from ~30 minutes beforehand until after the game ends.

So, just 3 hours for a road meet?

No, do stuff in the relatively-small impacted area during the 3 hours. Most of the new stuff is far from what would be affected by game traffic.

[froggie]

You don't understand Ohio, then.  It's far more than just the game-itself traffic...

[bandit957]

Possible, but only if poo.

[jpi]

Columbus would be doable for me, especially if a toy show is in the area, on a side note, when is this Toledo meet?

[vdeane]

I was thinking that doing both Columbus and Ashtabula might be too much Ohio in one year, but maybe not.  I can sufficiently differentiate the drives to each and make it worthwhile to do both in the same season (and clinch the rest of the keystone interstates in the process).  Given that I haven't heard anything about Milwaukee (I suspect many of the meets mentioned in the 2017 meets thread won't actually happen), I think I'll start looking at this one as a possibility.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

670-71 redux
315 -270 (on going construction)
Roberts Rd - 270

Thanks, all of those are probable too. Feel free to suggest other sights, especially if it's on the south side, which I'm less familiar with.

Southside....?
I'm not sure whats become of the Rickenbacker Pkwy (but that was mostly in Pickaway Co, so that might be too far south)
665-71 SPUI interchange
Shadeville By-pass
Old US 23 between Shadeville and Oh 762 (bypassed sections of two lane road with houses)
Groveport Rd - Alum Creek Dr intersection (bridge and double roundabout that doesn't seem that unusual 5 years later)
Bergstresser Covered Bridge (south of Canal Winchester)
Maybe an abandoned bridge/culvert over in Big Darby Metro Park, near Georgesville (uncorporated crossroads, not the actual road)
Old 3-C road around Harrisburg (SW Franklin Co)
Abandoned Truss Bridge near Oh 762 (just south of Harrisburg)
Maybe abutements for old bridge for White Rd over the Scioto
(Mind you, these are all located south of I-270)
---
As for having the meet during an OSU (home) football game; the majority of the games nowadays are 3/4 PM starts or later. Beside avoiding traffic along 315, 71, High St, and especially the OSU campus, there will be the issue of finding somewhere to meet for lunch, before the meet. Most restaurants/bars will be booked with folks there to watch OSU on the Television.
If it is a late start for OSU, lunch seating won't be an issue, but evening activities will be affected, as well as parking (since tours usually consolidate into 2-4 vehicles).  The further away the start/end point is away from Columbus the lesser an issue this becomes, but that too will effect which "landmarks" the tour would be enabled to encompass.

[cl94]

Most of the interesting things close to the Outerbelt and that thing doesn't take that long to drive around. You have the north side from 33 to 23, the Rickenbacker area, 71/665, the DDI and the Carroll interchange. Only thing inside the outerbelt that is really worth seeing (and hasn't been coverered ad infinitum in the past) is 71 from 70 to 670.

I'd say the south side is definitely more interesting, if only because it hasn't become as suburbanized and there's more old stuff kicking about. Other than a couple recent projects along 270, north side is bland suburbia.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I'd say the south side is definitely more interesting, if only because it hasn't become as suburbanized and there's more old stuff kicking about. Other than a couple recent projects along 270, north side is bland suburbia.

On the northside....
Westerville has street name signs, still on the sides of the buildings, along State St. and there is the old Brown Rd Truss bridge over Alum Creek.
Worthington has the oddball oval 161 shield (as mentioned by the OP), Village of Riverlea signs, and the original US 23 "in the valley" next to Camp Mary Orton (north end of the trench)
Clintonville has its ravines, some stone pillars, and some of the original Columbus Zoo
OSU campus has a painted yellow stop sign, and the oval used to be encompassed by roadway
Upper Arlington has Wyandot Hill/Bill Moose monument, and a bunch of stone pillars
Dublin has its old bridge over the Scioto, and the (now more) oddball intersection for Riverside Dr-Dublin Granville Rd (US 33, Oh 161, Oh 257)
And I haven't gotten into Delaware County (nor mentioned anything covered in the two previous Columbus meets [2006 & 2011])
Its not all bland suburbia on the northside of Columbus

[Nikolai]

It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Having lived in Columbus, that would probably be the PERFECT time to be on the roads because nobody will be out from ~30 minutes beforehand until after the game ends.

Hm, possibly. The existing date options don't seem to be too problematic though, so I'll just keep it as-is instead of restarting the poll.

on a side note, when is this Toledo meet?

The most specific date I've found is "late summer or early fall".

[Bitmapped]

I'm a maybe. It would depend on when this gets scheduled and what other stuff I would have going on at the time.

[frankenroad]

I'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

I remember seeing that as a kid, kinda surprised it's still there

It was there in the late 70's, when I was a student at OSU.   I would assume that it's been replaced intentionally by another oval at least once since then.  From what I read somewhere on this site, it is installed by the city of Worthington and not by the state.

I might be up for the Columbus meet - an excuse to visit my grandson!