REYNOLDSBURG, O.H. (AUDILOUS) — If you are a regular customer at Jolly Pirate Donuts on East Main Street, you have likely met owner Dino Soulas or one of his family members.
The shop, located at the corner of East Main Street and Rosehill Road, has operated since 1972 and has long served drivers heading west into the city, who make a left turn to reach the business. That left turn, however, will soon be eliminated.
“For morning traffic, most of the cars are heading west. We’re on the wrong side of the street,” Soulas said. “People don’t want to leave the line to get coffee and donuts, only to have to get back into it.”
A bus rapid transit line planned for East Main Street will eliminate some traffic lanes to make room for dedicated bus lanes in the center of the roadway. This plan will also remove the option for left turns at certain points along East Main Street. The project is funded by the LinkUS COTA levy, which voters approved in November 2024.
Soulas and his customers expressed concern that the changes could hurt business.
“It would make a lot of things very difficult. That would interfere with everybody on this north side of Main Street,” said customer Derrick Widzinski.
Other business owners are asking COTA and the city of Reynoldsburg to conduct an economic study to assess the impact on businesses along East Main Street that rely on vehicle traffic. They are also worried the changes could worsen congestion in an area already prone to traffic bottlenecks, especially during crashes.
“If there’s a problem on I-70, which happens quite often, traffic gets rediverted onto Main Street. So you take a bad situation and make it even worse,” Soulas said.
Soulas said a study would help him prepare for the changes. He also hopes for adjustments to the plan to preserve as many turning lanes as possible.
“I am a simple donut man, so a lot of that is above my pay grade. But what we were hoping for— we understand this is something that has to be done— but at least it’s not something that has to be done at our expense, so that left-hand turns will be allowed,” Soulas said.
A COTA representative told 10TV that while no long-term economic studies have been conducted specifically for this corridor, preliminary analyses of the long-term economic development outcomes for bus rapid transit have taken place, as required by federal regulations for major transit investments.
COTA officials said they gathered community feedback before the levy, including a rapid transit open house on the east side attended by about 30 people, and a presentation to the Reynoldsburg Chamber of Commerce with 40 attendees.
The current plans include left-turn opportunities along East Main Street. In Reynoldsburg, there is one mile of dedicated bus lanes with seven planned left-turn intersections that will have turn lanes and traffic signals at:
– Brice Road
– New Kroger Drive
– Rosehill Road
– Briarcliff Road
– Aida Drive
– Haft Drive
– Davidson Drive
Additionally, COTA does not plan to remove any existing left-turn options in the mixed-traffic section of East Main Street in Reynoldsburg, including:
– Lancaster Avenue
– Jackson Street
– Graham Road
– Oak Valley Road
– Taylor Road
For more information about planned bus rapid transit projects, visit the COTA website.
