Ash Street Improvements Project

Please move forward with reclassifying Ash Street a Neighborhood Collector. The proposed improvement project ignores the resident's desire to maintain trees and property. A downsized plan including a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side will improve walk ability without costing the local residents peace-of-mind or property value.

This is really concerning that the city wants to cut down a bunch of trees in one project, all at once. Even more so that it's in an inner city neighborhood where the urban forest has aged away for the most part. Does the city not like trees? Does the city feel like there are too many trees in this neighborhood? There used to be more large trees in the area. Does the city want to lower property values and quality of life for the inner city neighborhoods? How does cutting down all those trees fit in with the city's climate policies and tree policies? Is cutting down all these trees the best solution? What do professionals say about loss of trees in the inner city and the correlation on quality of life, community health, and crime rates? Has it been considered to make Ash a one-way street for auto and two-way for bikes? Has the city considered scrapping this plan to cut all the trees and actually plant more trees there instead? From the looks of all these comments, people seem to enjoy trees alot and have strong connections to them. Has the city considered how strong people's love for trees is? I dunno, but this plan doesn't seem very caring.

Please don't cut down trees. A lit up crosswalk is fine. Widening the road will only encourage more traffic in a residential area

The best city engineers and planners don't get the opportunity to see their work, because it is built for future generations to enjoy. Looking at neighborhoods all around the world that provide the best quality of life are the most peaceful and welcoming, and a lot of that is the trees that provide residents a connection to nature in their environments. Taking down trees and building massive roads/sidewalks causes more destruction than sustainability and, ultimately, is a disservice to the city and it's residents. Drivers need traffic to flow, yes- and humans need connection in the places that they live. Removing trees and bigger sidewalks is not solving any "safety" issues. The current sidewalk is not over crowded. Does it need work? Yes. Are we not able to fit on it because they need to be bigger? I have never seen this issue. I am confused what safety concerns the city engineer is trying to solve for? Are they true or are they created potential/unfounded issues? I am against this plan fully. I do not understand the need to wreck the trees that exist, to rob residents of the little green space they have, to widen a sidewalk that has never been crowded enough for anyone to claim it needs to be bigger. Speed bumps make sense. Bike lanes make sense. But what are we solving for with this project? Are we able to make some changes while being sensitive to the residents and future generations, rather than taking the first most destructive option?

1. Downgrade West Ash Street from a Major Collector to a Neighborhood Collector to reflect the physical characteristics of the street as well as its real use. West Ash is, indeed, a neighborhood use street where residents walk, ride bicycles, wait for the school bus, take their dogs on walks, talk to neighbors, walk to the grocery store, the ARC, local parks, etc. In addition, neighbors' driveways empty directly onto West Ash which is not a characteristic of a Major Collector. West Ash is currently unsafe due to the excessive speeding on the road and the city's "improvement" plan does nothing to mitigate that.

2. No cutting down of trees, unless they are dead or diseased, and no sequestering of residents' property. There are over 100+ trees slated to be cut down in the city's current plan. In a time of climate change, it is irresponsible to cut down that many mature trees and justify it by saying small starter trees will be offered to the homeowners. In addition, many neighbors will have NO front yard left if the current plan is implemented, resulting in greatly diminished property values, lack of privacy, and inability to enjoy one's property. How would you feel if someone took away your entire front yard and brought a sidewalk and bike lane right under your living room and bedroom windows? It seems like the city is taking advantage of a lower-middle income neighborhood. A similar street, Stewart Road which is one block south of Broadway compared to one block north as West Ash, has a single sidewalk on one side, speed bumps, and clearly marked pedestrian crossings at several points along the road. Again, this feels like advantage is being taken of a lower-middle income neighborhood.

3. Traffic calming: this has been requested by West Ash Street neighbors for years, yet nothing is presented in that regard on the city's current plan. The Pedestrians for Ash Street Association has requested on numerous occasions traffic calming measures: bump-outs/curb extensions at busy intersections (West Ash and West Blvd, West Ash and Anderson, West Ash and Garth, among others) to slow down traffic; speed bumps (we were told at the meeting that they weren't allowed due to emergency vehicles, yet they are all up and down Stewart, the parallel street one block south of Broadway. Again, this seems like taking advantage of a less economically advantaged area); brightly painted crosswalks with flashing lights at busy intersections so that pedestrians can cross safely; well-lit crosswalks; signs in the middle of the road (as on Stewart) indicating pedestrian crossing.

There was a very large gathering of West Ash Street neighbors at the 3/19/2025 meeting, the majority of whom have a consensus: NO tree elimination, NO sequestering of property; traffic calming measures; safer crosswalks; repair the sidewalks that are already present, NOT add new ones. Yet, the city seemed unwilling to listen to the tax-paying citizens who live in the affected area.

Upgrading existing sidewalks and adding 4 ft wide sidewalks where none exist makes sense. An 8ft wide sidewalk will not be acceptable, this will not help in improving calming traffic in any way and takes away privacy and trees. Speed bumps and maybe roundabouts at West Boulevard and Clinkscales would help. Do not take property or trees. No bicycles on the sidewalks!!

Just use the Dutch model for improving resident streets (That might mean eliminating car traffic altogether). If people are against a model that has verifiably improved the lives of people, then we as a city, should suffer collectively.

Columbia's population will grow to the point it'll need one way streets. Turn W Ash from Garth to Clinkscales into a one way street and it will calm traffic speeds and there will be enough room for bike lanes and sidewalks.

Listen to the residents
Keep current footprint
Paint crosswalks, more signage at cross streets
Finish sidewalk on north side.
We want our trees and yards, mimially disruptive changes are the best
The survey at the last open house was a slap in the face. My understanding the city Council said listen to the resident and come up with something new. You didn’t do that at all.

Keep the existing footprint. Our main concern is losing our yards, period. There are better ways to achieve results without taking our yards. The pedway plan is a no-go. If you want to improve the existing sidewalks and bike lanes, while keeping things within the existing footprint, then we are all for that. Losing yard space on either/both sides of Ash is unacceptable. Keep tree loss as minimal as possible (some must go, we understand that) and take the green strip as necessary. This project should not devolve into an "All or nothing" eventuality, even though that seems to be the position the City is taking.

As a 30 year resident of the West Ash neighborhood I am partial to its historic and charming feel. I enjoy walking my dogs and biking in the neighborhood and have felt Ash to be a lovely street that passes thru my neighborhood. The neighborhood was laid out more than 100 years ago and was never designed to be a major artery thru Columbia. It was built as a residential neighborhood for Columbia's working class citizens. Postage stamp sized front yards, modest square footage (most less than 1500 sq ft) and many, especially along Ash St., shared driveways. As Columbia has grown we understand the need for change but it should not be at the expense of property owners. The City's proposal to "construction of an 8-foot wide sidewalk along the north side of Ash Street to be utilized by both pedestrians and bicyclists" is untenable. Homeowners would lose some of their already very small yards, moving traffic noise that much closer. The tree canopy that provides Ash with most importantly shade, but also charm and beauty would be destroyed. Replanting and regrowing? We can't wait for 10-20 years. And lastly, having pedestrians and cyclists sharing a lane, even an 8 ft. lane is not safe. I can't imagine walking my dogs on tight leashes, worried a cyclist might not react quick enough.
Regarding the second part of the plan "The design includes construction of a 5-foot wide sidewalk along the south side of Ash Street to fill in sidewalk gaps. In addition, the design includes a continuous bike lane along the south side of Ash Street. " Again, taking people's private property is not cool. These are VERY small yards. This affects property value and again, the loss of the tree canopy.
And as for the last part of the plan "Finally, the design includes crosswalks with flashing beacons at the intersection with Redwood Road, Anderson Avenue and Alexander Avenue." I am not sure that these are very effective, as traffic at the one at Aldeah and Broadway rarely stops if I don't step into the street to make them. I do however, think these crossing suggestions are useful, just not enough considering the safety needs of the neighborhood.
To maintain the integrity of one of the oldest and historic central city neighborhoods Ash St. should be changed to a Minor Collector. We need traffic calming measures. We want our neighbors property and the tree canopy to be protected.

This very residential neighborhood has been asking for improved walkability for their neighborhood for many years. The currently planned project appears to have been designed without consideration of the residents' needs. The current design is out of scale and does not consider livability factors, such as the value of shade trees and front yards and does nothing to reduce traffic speeds. In fact, removing the "visual breaks" on Ash will lead to increased speeds and more accidents. Without a functioning tracking system for non-injury accidents within the city limits, the designers should pay attention to the significant anecdotal evidence of frequent accidents at Ash and West, right next to an elementary school.
As someone who travels by bicycle all over Columbia, including along Ash Street, I see the value of the planned 8-ft shared-use path on the north side of Ash. At the same time, I particularly enjoy biking through the narrow portion of Ash, because of its residential feel and great treescape. I see no reason why the design cannot make accommodations for existing improvements. The shared-use path could very easily be narrowed at spots or blocks to get around trees and preserve enough front yard to park in the driveway and have a little buffer from the street. There is currently one yard on the north side of Ash where the sidewalk has been routed around a large tree, with no apparent damage to the tree. Construction techniques can be altered to be less damaging to trees, as is done in many larger communities on a routine basis. Constructing a sidewalk under one side of a tree's canopy wile not disturbing the other could be one such technique.
I think with a little flexibility we can have the best of both worlds, maintain healthy trees and buffer to homes while also providing non-motorized connectivity. I, for one, would have no problem with my path bending around trees.
The feedback on this page and at the most recent public meeting has been quite consistent. I suggest holding a couple of meetings with two spokespersons for the neighborhood, City-staff and the design firm to hammer out the details that can make this a project worth the effort that has already been put into it.

I was very disappointed by the "public input" meeting held at the ARC on 3/19/2025. The purpose of the meeting was to gather the neighborhood's input on the Ash Street "Improvement" Project. Instead, the city brought the same plans, with very minor modifications, that have elicited public dissent for several months prior. And the city officials present did not seem to be receptive, at all, to residents' needs and desires for the project.

Moreover, residents were offered a comment form which offered three options, none of which reflected understanding or even consideration of residents' strong opposition to the project which has been expressed for months.

The tax-paying Columbia residents who live in the affected area have very simple requests which are not reflected in the city's plan:

1. Downgrade West Ash Street from a Major Collector to a Neighborhood Collector to reflect the physical characteristics of the street as well as its real use. West Ash is, indeed, a neighborhood use street where residents walk, ride bicycles, wait for the school bus, take their dogs on walks, talk to neighbors, walk to the grocery store, the ARC, local parks, etc. In addition, neighbors' driveways empty directly onto West Ash which is not a characteristic of a Major Collector. West Ash is currently unsafe due to the excessive speeding on the road and the city's "improvement" plan does nothing to mitigate that.

2. No cutting down of trees, unless they are dead or diseased, and no sequestering of residents' property. There are over 100+ trees slated to be cut down in the city's current plan. In a time of climate change, it is irresponsible to cut down that many mature trees and justify it by saying small starter trees will be offered to the homeowners. In addition, many neighbors will have NO front yard left if the current plan is implemented, resulting in greatly diminished property values, lack of privacy, and inability to enjoy one's property. How would you feel if someone took away your entire front yard and brought a sidewalk and bike lane right under your living room and bedroom windows? It seems like the city is taking advantage of a lower-middle income neighborhood. A similar street, Stewart Road which is one block south of Broadway compared to one block north as West Ash, has a single sidewalk on one side, speed bumps, and clearly marked pedestrian crossings at several points along the road. Again, this feels like advantage is being taken of a lower-middle income neighborhood.

3. Traffic calming: this has been requested by West Ash Street neighbors for years, yet nothing is presented in that regard on the city's current plan. The Pedestrians for Ash Street Association has requested on numerous occasions traffic calming measures: bump-outs/curb extensions at busy intersections (West Ash and West Blvd, West Ash and Anderson, West Ash and Garth, among others) to slow down traffic; speed bumps (we were told at the meeting that they weren't allowed due to emergency vehicles, yet they are all up and down Stewart, the parallel street one block south of Broadway. Again, this seems like taking advantage of a less economically advantaged area); brightly painted crosswalks with flashing lights at busy intersections so that pedestrians can cross safely; well-lit crosswalks; signs in the middle of the road (as on Stewart) indicating pedestrian crossing.

There was a very large gathering of West Ash Street neighbors at the 3/19/2025 meeting, the majority of whom have a consensus: NO tree elimination, NO sequestering of property; traffic calming measures; safer crosswalks; repair the sidewalks that are already present, NOT add new ones. Yet, the city seemed unwilling to listen to the tax-paying citizens who live in the affected area.

Very disappointing.

As someone who lives in the neighborhood and often walks and bikes along Ash to commute my daughter to school and then myself to work, I would love to see some traffic calming measures. There are SO many accidents at the corner of West and Ash, and I'm honestly counting my days until it's me or a member of my family injured there... Something has got to give, and I don't think widening the street (to allow for even FASTER vehicles) is NOT the answer.


We need a narrower street, if anything. Just narrow the street to put in sidewalks all along Ash. That should slow cars down. We should have some sort of flashing lights (similar to Broadway and Aldeah) at the intersection of West and Ash, and perhaps elsewhere along Ash, since it's such a residential area, with lots of pedestrians and children. I've repeatedly asked for speed humps, and know that the city doesn't want to put them in. Perhaps if our property values were as high as the homes on Stewart, speed humps would be considered...


And shame on whoever is seriously considering removing all of those trees, especially the older ones.


The city talked a good talk with their "fresh start" for this project, but as we learned at the meeting, you're not really do that, are you. Good luck strong arming this community into the crappy ideas you have so far. We won't stand for it.

The project design is honestly baffling to me. It doesn't seem to address anything that the people who live on Ash actually want. This whole thing reminds me of the "Overlay" project where city planners have their grand ideas of what our neighborhood should look like and they're going to force those ideas on us and ignore all of our feedback because they think they know best.

Why expand this small community when you have broadway on the other side? Ash is a quit small road that is user friendly to the people who live there! We already have people drive way to fast down Anderson! This is a place where people walk there dogs! We don’t need the extra traffic encouraged by the expansion! Not to mention all the old trees that live here! This is a community that is not wanting this change! This is just encouraging more people to drive down our tiny amazing quiet neighborhood!

I live on W. Ash St. and while I am in support of sidewalk improvement on the north side of Ash St. (my side), I am not in favor of the 8 ft. change/existing plan. There has to be some compromise here, as improvements are warranted. I love our neighborhood and the existing plan would change the quality of life for all of us. We value the trees and beautiful canopy in the W. Ash neighborhood. Additionally, we have been increasingly concerned with the speeds motorists travel along Ash. Just exiting my driveway is often a harrowing experience due to motorists exceeding the speed limit along Ash. This plan does not address this problem- not to mention the numerous traffic accidents we are all familiar with in the area, and may indeed make it worse! I am certain my property value would be affected by the existing plan. I urge the city to consider alternative solutions, such as incorporating traffic-calming infrastructure on Ash St., improving enforcement of speed limits, and enhancing pedestrian and cyclist protections in a way that does not compromise our neighborhood’s environmental and residential integrity.

Thank you for considering our concerns.
jmericle726

I really am not happy about it. I do not want to see 4 trees removed for a sidewalk. I think it would take away from the beauty of the yard and privacy. There is a sidewalk on the other side of the street. You really do not see many people walk on it. I also think it could attract scooters, who tend to go fast. I would miss all the trees and green grass.

I have several concerns about the Ash Street project.
1). I am concerned that property values will fall for the houses on Ash that will lose significant space on their yards for the sidewalks.
2) I am concerned about the loss of green space along Ash Street. If sidewalks are added, revisit how to do so in a way that optimizes green space.
3) I have safety concerns about the pedestrian walkways (Anderson, Redwood, Alexander). Cars travel relatively fast on Ash. Will children and other pedestrians be able to cross safely in the dark? In the rain? Will the speed limit on Ash be altered?

I live on Ash and barely have a front yard anyway yet they want to widen the sidewalks? And to 8 feet!!?? Unnecessary.
There is nothing wrong with the width of the sidewalks.
Also removing beautiful trees is awful. Why would anyone be in favor of this? Trees make everything more beautiful and have so many other benefits . I allowed the city to remove one of my trees because it was dying. Please don’t do this