When I moved to Dayton in 2012, I was bombarded with stories about interstates efficiently moving car traffic across the city to manufacturing jobs, but devastating business districts like W 5th Street, affectionally referred to as “The Nickel” that hosted medical offices, retail shops, restaurants and theaters with national acts. Neighborhood children could readily see models of success that anchored their aspirations, and easily access the former library built within the residential neighborhood, staffed with people who knew the children and invested in their personal development and civic engagement.
As a cultural geographer, I know the physical and psychological impact of boundaries like rivers, bridges, railroad tracks and highways. I hear the angst in the voices of community elders mourning the disruption of their young lives and living long enough to see the devastating impact. Some say the orientation of the new West Library is an indication of the same kind of thinking because the building faces the highway, not residential 3rd Street; and, its orientation does not support pedestrian traffic, nor inspires walkable access to a public facility funded by citizen tax dollars.
One of the easiest solutions to heal this physical and emotional scar would be a pedestrian bridge across the eight-lane highway, enhancing access to the West Library which provides safe haven for latch-key kids, homework help, and affordable internet access. But, if we are 21st Century Dreaming, perhaps the upcoming study will include a mass transit, cross-county design that could function as a light-rail, intra-connector creating an east-west inner-route crossing US 35 at several bridges — supporting foot-traffic and greater access for aging Boomers, those without cars, and those who chose to bike or walk.
I can imagine such a route restoring the urban-rural connection at US 35’s eastern edge, while also providing greater access for southern and western sector dwellers to City Central, with a vibrant landscape of native pollinators, green spaces for family gatherings and neighborhood festivals in between — creating a beautiful, inspiring landscape that will invigorate the local economy and the innovative spirit of its citizenry.
An Ohio Arts Council master teaching artist, Omope Carter Daboiku (Mama O), designs creative writing and global folkways workshops, and chosen the 2024 Black Appalachian (Ohio) StoryFellow by ArtsMidwest and the National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS).
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