O'Shaughnessy works on neighborhoods

By Kevin Carr
Contributing Writer
Columbus Post

First elected to city council in 1997, Maryellen O’Shaughnessy now serves as the chair of the Public Service and Transportation and Development Committees, which crafts engineering and highway construction projects. The committee also promotes economic development while keeping neighborhood integrity intact.
“My focus has been and will continue to be safe, walkable neighborhoods, responsible and sustainable growth, and revitalization of our downtown and core city,” O’Shaughnessy told the Columbus Post. “I can’t say that we have met those goals. It’s a vision. We’re heading in the right direction.”
O’Shaughnessy is troubled by the fact that the transportation system in Columbus favors automobiles over pedestrians, bicycles and mass transit.
“The deck is stacked towards cars in the system,” she said. “I want to return that balance.”
A Columbus native, O’Shaughnessy went through the Columbus Catholic school system and graduated from Waterson High School. She attended The Ohio State University and graduated in 1987 with a degree in journalism. Currently, she is a licensed funeral director working for her family business which has been in Columbus since 1889.
One of O’Shaughnessy’s goals is to institute a traffic calming method and help the traffic engineers in the city understand the need for this balance.
“We’ve instituted a transportation and pedestrian commission, which will help us advise the best practices,” O’Shaughnessy said. “I think there’s a significant need throughout our city for means and ways to build into the system and create that balance.”
O’Shaughnessy supports a “pay as you grow” method of making developers pay for themselves as their businesses grow. She wants to focus on areas of the city that the average developer wouldn’t address. She hopes this will help turn around depressed areas and create jobs.

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