The Coshocton Ave mess would not be the mess it is now if more fore thought was involved in the growth planning. Access roads should have been installed as the area grew.

Downtown is not congested. Far from it. And given that the ODOT study found that the majority of OH-13 northbound traffic had Mount Vernon as its destination, I don’t see how such a bypass would be used. As for Asetta, their main complaint was “lack of parking”, likely because their lazy customers didn’t feel like parking one or two blocks away and walking (god forbid), even though they probably walk the same distance when parking at Kroger or Wal-mart. And, as I understand it, Assetta also moved because they needed more space for their wholesale operation. I don’t believe they moved because of traffic, so your example doesn’t support your thesis. Your thesis, however, is the same for the 1970s-era downtown “pedestrian malls,” where all traffic is cut off from the downtown area and it’s turned into an open-air mall. One was even suggested and planned for in Mount Vernon, but over the years ones that were implemented failed all over the country, reducing their central business districts to ghost towns. Why would you want to take away the traffic from an area where it seems necessary for business? When people drive through Mount Vernon and see, perhaps, The High or Sips and either stop in for a bite or remember it and come back on purpose, that helps our local economy as the money stays local. When people drive through on bypasses and stop at fast food chains, their money spent there mostly exits the county with minimal reinvestment. Which would you rather have?

The signs were not purchased by the local government. The downtown Heritage Centre purchased the signs and no taxpayer dollars were spent. You can read more about that here, in a story published September 23, 2008.