ASHLAND — The Ashland Board of Revisions and Assessments will not move forward with vacating half of Jefferson Street until Ashland University and affected property owners come to agreements.
Rick Ewing, vice president of operations and planning at Ashland University, said the plan is to vacate half of Jefferson Street, meaning the cut-through road between Broad Street and Claremont Avenue would no longer be accessible from Broad.
“Not only are we looking at aesthetics and making it a more attractive place for our students and community, but also to improve safety,” Ewing said, adding the safety component is what is driving the request.
The plan is to revamp the crosswalk located at Jefferson Street and Claremont Avenue and reducing traffic on the street by ripping up the pavement on the north side of the road and planting grass there.
That plan, however, eliminates access to the back of a rental house at Jefferson and Broad streets. That’s what Arlene Simpson was concerned about during Tuesday’s public hearing.
Currently, her tenants have a parking spot off Jefferson Street.
Joseph Kearns, an attorney representing the company that owns the property on which Burger King is located, said his client is concerned with being stuck with property that is of lesser value with Jefferson Street vacated.
Kearns said Burger King’s lease on the building is up in 2026.
“So they need to make sure, obviously, that they have a viable property that is not adversely affected by this vacation,” Kearns said.
Councilwoman Angela Woodward asked Ewing if the university has considered the possibility that vacating Jefferson Street would cause people to use Davis Street as a cut-through to Claremont Avenue instead.
Ewing said yes, there would be unintended consequences, and that the university has considered requesting eliminating on-street parking on Davis because of how narrow it is.
Ashland resident Ben Bowman asked Ewing if the university has considered constructing another pedestrian bridge over Broad Street in order to improve the safety of students walking from Claremont Avenue to the sports complex.
Ewing said another pedestrian bridge has not come up as an option.
“You can take a horse to water, but that doesn’t mean he’ll drink,” Ewing said.
After the nearly 45-minute discussion, Simpson, Kearns and Ewing agreed to continue talks in order to come to agreements on easements or future maintenance.
“The major key to this is these agreements you have with these property owners,” said Richard Wolfe, the city’s law director, addressing Ewing.
Once those agreements have been made, Wolfe, Ashland Mayor Matt Miller and Ashland finance director Larry Paxton indicated they — as the members of the board of revisions and assessments — would be willing to recommend the street’s vacation to council.
