Heads up, Buckeye fans, game day traffic undergoing changes

As part of a pilot program to evaluate new ways to move more people faster, the flow of game day traffic is undergoing some changes.

The City of Columbus and COTA announced the “Game Day Mobility Lane,” a one-day test that will close a lane near Ohio State’s campus to normal traffic.

On November 23 starting at 10am (Ohio State vs. Penn State football game), the southbound curb lane along North High Street from Dodridge Street to Lane Avenue will be dedicated to bus, bike, and scooter traffic only.

Immediately after the start of the football game at noon, the cones will move to change the northbound flow of traffic. At that time, the northbound curb lane will be dedicated to bus, bike, and scooter traffic. The northbound traffic flow change will be in place during the game and for two hours after the game ends.

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According to a release from the City of Columbus, analyses gleaned from the Game Day Mobility Lane test will inform future decision about how to best optimize traffic patterns, and could serve as a model for future tests.

The Game Day Mobility Lane is the second project in a series called the Mobility Innovation Tests, which provide critical information to help understand how to better connect residents to education, jobs, healthcare, and, in this case, OSU football.

The first test was on Third Street downtown. By dedicating the curb lane to buses, bikes and scooters, COTA saw a 25 percent time savings and closed their time range to travel the corridor from 3-24 minutes to 2-10 minutes.

“With a million people coming to our region in the coming decades, now is the time to rethink how our roads and transportation system work to give our residents convenient, affordable choices,” said Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin. “We know from other cities that dedicated lanes make a transit system more efficient and effective.”

Learn more at columbus.gov/council/mobility-innovation.

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