By Kevin Greer
Lakeside Communications Manager
Roundabouts are becoming a familiar sight across Ohio, and the Marblehead Peninsula is no exception. Drivers already navigate two on the Route 53 North exit off Route 2 and another about a mile from Lakeside at Route 163, Englebeck Road and North Shore Boulevard.
In late spring 2026, construction is expected to wrap up on a new roundabout on Route 269 near the Route 2 Exit 125 A-B. Typically, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) landscapes the center island with rocks, stones and a small tree or two, a simple low-maintenance design. But a Danbury Township Trustee, well known to Lakesiders, had a different vision.
Dianne Rozak, who moved from the Cleveland area to Johnson’s Island in 1983 and has served as a trustee since 1995, partnered with local prairie biologist John Blakeman to give the roundabout a look that reflects the natural beauty waiting for travelers.
“That exit ramp is the gateway to our area,” Rozak said. “You’re expecting to see native things when you go to the lake. No other roundabout in Ottawa County will look like this one. It’s really going to pop.”
The New Plan Takes Shape
Rozak reached out to ODOT, and Blakeman drafted a prairie planting plan for the 40-foot center circle. ODOT approved the proposal, and the work is already underway.
Rozak and a friend have been gathering native grasses and wildflowers from Meadowbrook Marsh, including big bluestem, Indian grass and switchgrass. They also collected seeds from gray-headed coneflowers, ashy sunflowers and wild bergamot (pictured), a pollinator favorite that Rozak was thrilled to find.
“It’s just the bomb for butterflies and hummingbirds,” Rozak said. “Everything loves it.”
The seeds, spread out to dry on layers of newspaper, now fill several boxes in Rozak’s garage. Rozak and Blakeman will work with ODOT to broadcast the seeds soon onto the untilled soil. A truck will then compact them into the ground, followed by a protective layer of rye grass.
“Hopefully, some of this will come up in the spring and summer,” Rozak said. “We probably won’t see the full effect until at least year two — ideally in year three and beyond. I can’t tell you how excited we are.”
There’s More in the Works
Keith Brown, who owns property on the northeast side of the roundabout, plans to add native trees and plantings to the site as well. He has been collaborating with Blakeman and attending township hearings. When ODOT needed extra soil for the project, Brown struck a deal — he’ll provide the soil, and ODOT agreed to dig a pond for him.
Brown also plans to install a sign reading, “Welcome to Danbury Township, Gateway to the Marblehead Peninsula,” and he’s enhancing his own property with more native plantings similar to those planned for the roundabout.
“What we hope is once people and developers start to see what the native plantings look like — not only at the roundabout but on Brown’s property — people might come knocking on our door and ask, ‘How do you do that?’” Rozak said. “I’ll have them meet me at Meadowbrook with a couple of bags, they can collect their own seeds, and we’ll show them how to create prairies on their property.”
A Lakeside Connection
Rozak’s ties to Lakeside go back decades, beginning with her volunteer work at the Labor Day Spaghetti Dinner for the local firemen, long before the departments combined. Through the years, she has attended many Lakeside events and hosted quite a few herself.
An avid birder, Rozak has led dozens of lectures during “The Biggest Week in American Birding” and Lakeside Birding Week each May and guided bird walks at Meadowbrook Marsh. Her photography on migrating birds has been featured in exhibitions at the Train Station, with many photos captured during walks through Lakeside with a friend.
“We love to walk through Lakeside,” Rozak said. “We’re not there for exercise — we’re looking for the beauty. On Ottawa County Day, I can’t tell you how many photos I took along Ohio’s Most Beautiful Mile. The first time I walked through the woods behind the Memorial Garden at Chautauqua Park, my mouth must have been open half the time. I’m surprised there weren’t flies down my throat. It is a nature lover’s paradise.”
Rozak has been giving birding lectures in Lakeside, Marblehead and Port Clinton for 11 years. Although familiar with birding week during her time with the visitor’s bureau, her interest deepened after a visit to Magee Marsh during spring migration, where she saw crowds and a cuckoo bird that she didn’t know lived in Ohio.
She says birding is a “wonderful addiction,” and Lakeside is one of her favorite places to take her camera, not just for birds, but for the beauty of the community.
“We live in such a unique area,” Rozak said. “You’ve got Johnson’s Island, the Village of Marblehead, and there is nothing like Lakeside. It’s always been near and dear to my heart. It’s the most wonderful part of the township.”
*Roundabout photo provided by ODOT. Flower and birding photography provided by Rozak.
