South Vienna Dollar General opens despite opposition from citizens

Apr. 3—After long opposition to its construction in the South Vienna community, aDollar General opened March 26 at the intersection of Ohio 54 and Ohio 40.

Due to safety concerns for the location being at a busy intersection, many citizens of South Vienna protested thestore's construction. Many signed petitions and put up signs across the village.

South Vienna Mayor Toni Keller said citizens have settled down now that the store has opened.

"It's a nice store and the people that work there are nice," Keller said, "I think our people here are happy with the store, they're just so concerned about the corner there having no traffic light or no safety zone in the middle of Route 40."

Dollar General said in a press release announcing the store opening that it would employ six to 10 people.

Of the store's employees, Keller said, "I went over and I met them a couple days before it opened, when they were setting up, and they were very nice and very willing to do what they're supposed to do."

However, she fully understands the concerns for safety as voiced by South Vienna citizens last fall.

"I just hope there's no accidents there," Keller said. "There's no traffic light and it's a four-lane highway, and part of the village is on the north side of it, part is on the south side, and the store is right on the corner. So, if people are trying to turn to get in, there's gonna be a backup of traffic when they make a turn off of 40, or if there's a lot of cars stopped there, or if any trucks are trying to unload."

"It's a concern for the people across the street because if they try to get out of their driveways it's hard for them to see," she said. "It was called to my attention that there's not even a safety zone for someone to wait in the middle of the highway or something for them to wait and get halfway across but not all the way."

Keller said many in the community still appreciate the store's location and what it brings to South Vienna:

"The residents are actually pretty happy with it, a lot of nice things are in there."