October 20, 20204 yr On 10/16/2020 at 2:08 PM, jwulsin said: $3.8 million in federal funds plus an additional $750k in local matching funds for a 3/4 mile segment of bike/ped pathway... is a lot of money. Can OKI funding go towards more general "park" amenities? I know the plan is to create a "linear park" through this part of the development... so I wonder if some of those funds will spent on the "park" aspects, as opposed to just the trail itself. Source: https://www.oki.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/OKI-federally-funded-projects-for-October-8-2020.pdf The money has to be spent on transportation if it comes from OKI but that is open to interpretation. Great Parks projects have been rejected for being primarily recreational.
October 27, 20204 yr On 10/20/2020 at 2:03 PM, jwulsin said: This map from WVXU implies it'll go through the "middle" of the block north of Whittier, so they need land from those property owners Wasson Way posted this image of the route last Thursday: I am still curious about phase 6B, the proposed Xavier connection. Most of that land is actually owned by Xavier, though Listermann does own some, but not all, of the former RoW across from Idlewild that they use as parking. Xavier also uses some of their pieces for parking, west of Woodburn.
October 27, 20204 yr I was going to asking what the CROWN loop is... but found the answer through Googling: https://crown.cincinnaticares.org/ Quote CROWN, the Cincinnati Riding Or Walking Network, is a vision for a 34-mile multi-use trail loop around Cincinnati’s urban core. When complete, CROWN will form a network between Wasson Way, Ohio River Trail, Little Miami Scenic Trail, Mill Creek Greenway Trail, and Canal Bikeway. This walkable and bikeable network will transform the way we move in Cincinnati by connecting over 356,000 people around Cincinnati to parks, schools, employment centers, retail, and entertainment. The CROWN Capital Campaign is a partnership between Wasson Way, Ohio River Way, and Tri-State Trails (an initiative of Green Umbrella). Edited October 27, 20204 yr by jwulsin
October 27, 20204 yr Oh yeah sorry, I thought CROWN was common parlance now. I think they spun off of one of the other area biking advocacy groups. There more localized maps include sharrows as highlighted routes, which seems like a bad thing to use. Hasn't it been well known for awhile that sharrows are not even remotely safe? It is great that they include the existing bike lanes. It really shows how little progress has been made on the easiest of steps.
October 27, 20204 yr ^There is no point in trying to bike along MLK when you can ride on University, which does not dip anywhere close to as low at Eden Ave, and has almost no traffic at cross-streets. Alternately, you can ride on Piedmont. This proposed bike path along the north edge of MLK will take up the strip of publicly-owned ROW planned for light rail. I mean, Cranley is succeeding in completely blocking all of the critical space and ROW's necessary for the Metro Moves light rail plan and therefore sending the eventual cost of a system through this area through the roof.
October 27, 20204 yr 6 hours ago, Dev said: I am still curious about phase 6B, the proposed Xavier connection. Most of that land is actually owned by Xavier, though Listermann does own some, but not all, of the former RoW across from Idlewild that they use as parking. Xavier also uses some of their pieces for parking, west of Woodburn. It looks like Xavier left space between their parking lots directly across from WW for a mixed use path, so I think the path through there is pretty obvious. They'll want to carefully plan the bike path though, as it may cut a chunk of land for a future building in two, unless they have the building create a little tunnel on the first floor where the path will go. I don't know the Listermann people, but I would hope they see this bike path running right past their front door as a net positive if they need to cut parking spots.
October 27, 20204 yr 1 hour ago, jmecklenborg said: ^There is no point in trying to bike along MLK when you can ride on University, which does not dip anywhere close to as low at Eden Ave, and has almost no traffic at cross-streets. Alternately, you can ride on Piedmont. This proposed bike path along the north edge of MLK will take up the strip of publicly-owned ROW planned for light rail. I mean, Cranley is succeeding in completely blocking all of the critical space and ROW's necessary for the Metro Moves light rail plan and therefore sending the eventual cost of a system through this area through the roof. They do have a proposed "connection" along University/Lincoln and Fredonia but I haven't seen more details than just a dotted line on a map. Hopefully it's a bike lane or a cycle track. The RoW is certainly wide enough for it. I would like to know why the MLK trail is just on the north side of the road. I'm not sure how they expect people to cross MLK safely to get to it. Even the sidewalks on the new bridge is wider on the northside so apparently this has always been the plan.
October 27, 20204 yr 56 minutes ago, Dev said: They do have a proposed "connection" along University/Lincoln and Fredonia but I haven't seen more details than just a dotted line on a map. Hopefully it's a bike lane or a cycle track. The RoW is certainly wide enough for it. I would like to know why the MLK trail is just on the north side of the road. I'm not sure how they expect people to cross MLK safely to get to it. Even the sidewalks on the new bridge is wider on the northside so apparently this has always been the plan. I imagine that it would be something similar to what exists on the north side of MLK between I-75 and Clifton Ave, but with a large number of intersections and steeper hills. In short, it's a bad idea. I remember when they widened MLK between Jefferson and Reading in the late 90s. They rebuilt the MLK/Vine/Jefferson interchange at the same time (and put up the power plant, which had previously been located in the south end zone of Nippert Stadium). At the time they anticipated a full grade separation of that intersection which is why the extra space on the north side of MLK was preserved near the Vontz Center and over to Hoxworth. They took out a few houses that faced the old MLK (which was much narrower - basically a regular neighborhood street) and a strip of 20+ houses on the east side of Vine between the nursing school and the VA. That strip of houses was really similar to the strip that still exists on the west side of Vine opposite the VA. By getting all of those houses out of there they got rid of all of the parallel parking and driveways and set the whole area up for the anticipated grade separation that will probably never be built. I talked to the guy at Parsons-Brinkerhoff who designed the late-90s light rail route that was studied by OKI and they planned to have the line travel in a cut on the west side of Jefferson from Corry north to University, then travel under the giant intersection through a new underpass to the slope next to the nursing school and then travel on a bridge over Eden Ave. next to the Vontz Center. The thing was then going to go back beneath Highland, Burnet, Harvey, and Reading. So there weren't going to be any grade crossings between the Mt. Auburn Tunnel portal and Xavier University. It was still possible to build a road grade separation for MLK beneath the rail underpass, so there would have been two levels below the surface roads. By blocking this ROW with a bike trail, Cranley has succeeded in forcing most or all of this future rail line to be built as a tunnel. We all know that tunnel boring technology has improved but the cost of stations is still astronomical as compared to surface stations.
November 17, 20204 yr https://www.facebook.com/wassonwayproject/posts/3743995509013615 Sounds like phase 3 of Wasson Way, Madison to Marburg, is going to finish on schedule. Meanwhile, they are doing a great job ignoring design concerns.
April 21, 20214 yr On Saturday, Wasson Way formally announced planning for the next phase of the project, through Xavier's campus, including the overflow parking lot commonly used by Listermann customers. They also want to create a spur through campus that connects to Norwood's Upper Millcrest Park. In the past, it was not entirely clear if this connection would actually happen or if users would have to route around campus along Montgomery and Dana. https://www.facebook.com/wassonwayproject/posts/4156604027752759
April 21, 20214 yr If I recall correctly, the Wasson Line was key to the Metro Moves light rail plans. If Hamilton County wanted to revive this plan for light rail, would the bike paths have to be destroyed or is there enough room for both?
April 21, 20214 yr 22 minutes ago, JaceTheAce41 said: If I recall correctly, the Wasson Line was key to the Metro Moves light rail plans. If Hamilton County wanted to revive this plan for light rail, would the bike paths have to be destroyed or is there enough room for both? Their original pitch was that room would be left over to place a light rail line next to Wasson Way. Now that it is complete I'm not sure that is true, particularly between Edwards and Madison. In any case, the issue isn't the trail but how to get LRT south of Blair Avenue, an issue Wasson Way is also struggling with. The biggest hurdle is 71 itself, especially the new interchange with MLK. At the end of the day, a countywide bus transit levy struggled to pass, so I'm not optimistic that a countywide LRT levy could pass.
April 21, 20214 yr You're probably right but I'd really hate for Cincy to miss out when the Biden admin starts throwing money at rail transit.
April 28, 20214 yr Is Phase 5 going to be stairs? The topography there is challenging with ~60' drop from the elevation of the trellis down to Old Red Bank.
April 28, 20214 yr I haven't seen an updated design or know if it changed, but this was what the proposed design was in Aug 2020 when I records requested it.
April 28, 20214 yr The construction documents can be found on the City's Business Opportunities site. They start on page 252 of the Section 1: Bid Information sheet. The drawings are dated 1/13/2021. The actual route is slightly different than the screen grab from shawk but not by much. I would post my own but I can't get the file size small enough. The project number is 211C909035 or just search "Wasson Way." Prus Construction is the GC.
June 3, 20214 yr Quote Roughly $4 million will be used to match federal funding for Wasson Way, a part of the core, $50 million, 34-mile urban loop. With that contribution, it will allow Wasson Way to be completed from the University of Cincinnati to Red Bank Road. Another $2 million will go for a bike trail along the Oasis Rail Line, which runs from downtown to Lunken Airport. The city recently signed a term sheet with the railroad that has an easement on the site for its use as a bike trail. It also mentions that the completion of the Mill Creek trail is getting interest from companies and the hope that the Federal infrastructure bill will be used to help complete it
August 12, 20213 yr I know it's been shared previously, but I can't find the answer... why aren't they continuing Wasson Way on the train bridge across Red Bank and Columbia Parkway? Obviously, it would need proper guard rails for safety... but it would make for such a cool biking experience and would be great to provide a more direct connection to Mariemont (and eventually the Little Miami bike trail).
August 13, 20213 yr 20 hours ago, jwulsin said: I know it's been shared previously, but I can't find the answer... why aren't they continuing Wasson Way on the train bridge across Red Bank and Columbia Parkway? Obviously, it would need proper guard rails for safety... but it would make for such a cool biking experience and would be great to provide a more direct connection to Mariemont (and eventually the Little Miami bike trail). I have yet to see an official answer from the City or the CROWN folks but it's either money, or that the publicly owned portion of the line abruptly ends just past Wooster Pike in an industrial park. It's probably a little bit of both. I think CROWN does have some tentative ideas for how to get from Wooster Pike at the end of the City's RoW to Otto Armleder, it's just probably too far down the line. I'm sure there's some politicking that we are not seeing, i.e.. Oasis Trail suddenly becoming an actual option for construction. It's certainly disappointing because it would be fairly easy to squeeze in bike lanes on Wooster Pike both in the industrial park and through the Fairfax business district and into Mariemont Square. I have heard many times that the rail company has refused all offers by both Mariemont and Cincinnati to purchase the Claire Yards. I think this is why local organizers, both in Mariemont and in the region, are focusing on getting the Murray Trail down the hill to 50 West Brewing.
August 13, 20213 yr I wonder if the Keebler plant closing if it will eventually be torn down to make way for a terminus for the bike path. (Also disappointed the plant is closing as that is a major loss of industrial jobs.)
February 22, 20223 yr The Wasson Way Project posted an update on Facebook about the next leg to be completed. The image is too large to attach into UO. Quote Some of the details of the Avondale section of the WW and CROWN are starting to emerge...and we are pretty excited. Construction will start in 9-months of Phase 6A. Xavier is also working on plans for their section and hopefully will have a similar schedule. A crosswalk will go across Montgomery Road with a button and stoplight when Xavier builds their piece. Preliminary plans are for the WW to cross Dana at Woodburn (existing traffic light) but a crossing of Dana near Listermann's is being explored. The trail will use the northwest half of the bridge over Victory Parkway (southeast half will remain vacant). There will be a connector to Walnut Hills High School and Victory Parkway. Blair Court, where it connects to the WW will be extensively renovated, so Avondale residents will have easy and smooth access to the trail. We are exploring the possibility of installing lighting. Avondale residents and the WW nonprofit feel this is very important for safety, as the trail goes through some remote areas on its way to MLK and Reading. As we always said...the endpieces of the WW are the best parts...east to Little Miami Trail and west to MLK and Reading.
February 22, 20223 yr Their map is not taking this proposal for granted: On 3/30/2021 at 10:15 PM, ColDayMan said: Uptown Consortium forming plans for Innovation Greenway Uptown Consortium Inc., along with planning and design firm, Sasaki, continues to formulate and refine plans for a multi-acre greenspace known as the Innovation Greenway. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/03/30/uptown-consortium-innovation-greenway.html
August 11, 20222 yr Update by Wasson Way on their Facebook page: Quote If you wonder why we are so excited about next year...take a look at this map. Starting early in 2023 the WW/Crown will be built through Xavier's Campus and reach Blair Park in Avondale (yellow line). The following year it goes to MLK and Reading (green line). At the top of the map see a proposed trail up the west side of Norwood. This recent newsletter from Uptown Consortium gives lots of details. The article from Uptown Consortium can be found on their website and the recording from the presentation is on YouTube. Norwood is also working on a road diet of Montgomery, which will include beacons for the WW intersection.
August 11, 20222 yr Aligning that Xavier connection at the same time as the rest of the section to Blair Court is a big win. Diverting along Dana and Montgomery would have been a big handicap, especially since it's brick pavers. I also forgot to mention that Cincinnati is looking at straightening Idlewild Avenue. This will probably change the design of this section of Wasson Way but I assume it will improve sightlines for crossings. They listed it as an option for their annual application for the SORTA infrastructure grant but no word if they selected that as one of their 4 submissions.
August 15, 20222 yr I wish the city would do a TOD-lite overlay when they spend money building out these trails. Upzone single family parcels within a block or two along to trail to allow for 4-8 unit buildings, and create retail corridors along the route ala Atlanta's Eastside Beltline.
August 16, 20222 yr On 8/15/2022 at 11:28 AM, dnymck said: I wish the city would do a TOD-lite overlay when they spend money building out these trails. Upzone single family parcels within a block or two along to trail to allow for 4-8 unit buildings, and create retail corridors along the route ala Atlanta's Eastside Beltline. I have been told that Wasson Way is working towards a zoning review of that entire corridor. I don't know any details but hopefully it moves forward and it starts that policy discussion.
April 16, 20232 yr Long-term planning documents by OKI lists the description for a Wasson Way phase 8 which would be using Alternative E7 from the Eastern Corridor project connecting it to Otto Armleder Park. This would use the existing bridges over Red Bank and Columbia Parkway to get to Wooster. After that it would go along Duck Creek behind the cardboard recycling plant, before crossing Wooster again along Prus' property line. It's not clear to me how it gets through the Wooster and Red Bank intersection however. Construction is estimated at $8.4 million and is planned to begin in FY25.
May 24, 20232 yr 19 hours ago, dnymck said: https://www.wvxu.org/local-news/2023-05-23/officials-plans-connect-cincinnati-bike-infrastructure DOTE and CROWN updates on current projects and future plans for bike infrastructure. Tri-State Trails' update included some slides related to Wasson Way. Edited May 24, 20232 yr by Dev
August 30, 20231 yr Did the City say when this section and the next phase to MLK will be completed an open to the public?
August 30, 20231 yr 11 hours ago, GHOST TRACKS said: Did the City say when this section and the next phase to MLK will be completed an open to the public? Most updates come from Tri-State Trails or Wasson Way instead of the city. I don't think they specifically mentioned it but I have heard that it'll probably be in the spring because of the renovations necessary for that bridge. They had a ton of delays when renovating that bridge in Ault Park as well. The section from Dana to Blair is called Phase 6A. 6B is the section through Xavier between Dana and Montgomery. I haven't heard anything about this but it's mostly up to Xavier. For their part, the city got grants to straighten Idlewild Avenue and put some type of crossing at the existing terminus at Montgomery. A presentation at City Council by TST back in May talked about it. Attached is one of the images from the slide deck. Getting it from Blair to MLK is phase 7. They have that on the board for next year. There is some grant money and donations already received for that but I would guess it won't be until late 2024 at this rate. I think after that is connecting it to Otto Armleder. I think there will be a public engagement session for that later this year to get feedback on design alternatives. There has been some money awarded for preliminary engineering and OKI has it in their Transportation Improvement Program plan for 2025. I assume that will be called phase 8.
September 20, 20231 yr In an email to supporters, Wasson Way has given some major updates of things to come: Quote PLANS FOR 2024 AND BEYOND - Wasson Way continues to work with the City of Cincinnati, Great Parks of Hamilton County, and the Ohio Department of Transportation to connect Wasson Way with the rest of the CROWN network. Phase 6A of Wasson Way is currently under construction from Woodburn Ave. in Evanston to Blair Court in Avondale and is expected to be open later this year. (Watch for a ribbon-cutting announcement.) Early next year, Xavier University will start work on the connection through campus from Montgomery Road to Woodburn. The Villages of Fairfax, Mariemont, and Columbia Township are working to connect the Wasson Way trail head at Old Red Bank Rd. on the east side of Ault Park to the Little Miami Trail in Columbia Township by Bass Island Park. Looking further ahead, we are working with ODOT, the City and the County to explore a connection to Armleder Park. The railroad trestle over Red Bank Road is being evaluated as a key feature in this connection. While many hurdles remain – from land acquisition to funding - once completed this would connect Wasson Way will with trails from Cincinnati to Cleveland. Also: Quote Thanks to Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance (CORA), there is now an access point at the end of Aylesboro Avenue. We are celebrating the opening on Friday, September 22nd from 5pm to 7pm. All are welcome! We hope to see you there!
September 20, 20231 yr 56 minutes ago, Dev said: The railroad trestle over Red Bank Road is being evaluated as a key feature in this connection. While many hurdles remain – from land acquisition to funding - once completed this would connect Wasson Way will with trails from Cincinnati to Cleveland Good to hear that this is still on the menu at least. I figured they'd abandon that segment all together given the length of bridge necessary. It would have to be one of the longest and tallest (non river-crossing) bike trail bridges anywhere in the US. Combined with the one through Ault Park and you're basically on a bridge for a 1/3 mile and you're way above the creek. Edited September 20, 20231 yr by 10albersa
September 20, 20231 yr The section along Wasson Rd. between Edwards and Hyde Park Plaza is still wildly cheap-looking. Hopefully this will be upgraded at some point.
September 20, 20231 yr 4 hours ago, Lazarus said: The section along Wasson Rd. between Edwards and Hyde Park Plaza is still wildly cheap-looking. Hopefully this will be upgraded at some point. They've been chipping away at adding landscaping along that corridor but that's about all it's going to be for awhile. One of the two community councils could apply for funding to speed that up but I don't see that happening either; they have other priorities. The only thing that could happen is an overhaul of Wasson Road itself by DOTE, with a grant, but again, the city has other priorities for that type of funding.
December 1, 20231 yr Yesterday, Wade Johnston, the Executive Director of Tri-State Trails, posted a ride on Strava that included the current new phase of construction. His pictures make it look like most of the paving is done. The title of the post was "Almost Done." Previously, he stated that work would be completed in December so hopefully this means that everything is still on schedule.
December 6, 20231 yr Wasson Way Phase 6A Ribbon Cutting set by Tri-State Trails: Quote Description: Join Mayor Aftab Pureval, Wasson Way, and leaders from the CROWN Capital Campaign at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Phase 6A of Wasson Way! This trail extension marks a significant milestone, connecting Woodburn Avenue in Evanston to Blair Court in Avondale. We’ll gather at the dead-end of Blair Court on the west side of the trail. We’re thrilled to have you join us; the transformation is astounding. We can’t wait to see you there and celebrate this momentous occasion! DETAILS: Date: Dec 13 Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am VENUE Blair Court 951 Blair Court Cincinnati, OH 45229 United States It sounds like phase 6B, through Xavier's property from Montgomery to Woodburn won't hit until later next year due to timing on the grant funding.
December 6, 20231 yr The City owns quite a bit of land along Victory Parkway that is adjacent to this 6A segment of Wasson Way. I hope that a future road diet of Victory Parkway goes along with some RFPs to develop the city-owned land into medium- to high-density housing and/or some mixed-use. Being so close to Xavier and Walnut Hills High School, and directly on Wasson Way, this seems like one of the best development opportunities along Wasson Way. Here’s an approximately 8-acre parcel that could support a lot of housing: https://wedge.hcauditor.org/view/re/1080002003290/2022/aerial_imagery If Dynamic Industries sells their unused land (which is currently just woods), that would add another ~8 acres between Wasson Way and I-71. The topography is neat with a high elevation of 730’ near the onramp and then sloping down to 630’ near the intersection of Victory Parkway and Dana. I’d love to see a creative site plan that takes advantage of the topography. There’s a natural depression of about 20’ between Victory Parkway and Wasson Way (dips down to 610’), which could house a multilevel “underground” garage, with housing built at grade with Victory Parkway. The topography could offer some fun hike/bike trails for traversing the hills. Would be great for Wasson Way to have a direct connection to some off-road trails.
December 7, 20231 yr That specific parcel is in the hillside overlay, although that's not a hard deal breaker per se. Another competing concern is the restoration of the Bloody Run Creek. I doubt it would happen but I would be interested to learn if there are any major CSO issues along Victory.
December 21, 20231 yr The CROWN, Cincinnati's 34-mile trail network, takes a big step toward completion The CROWN, a 34-mile urban loop connecting communities in and close to the city of Cincinnati on foot and by bicycle, took a major step toward completion with the opening of part of Wasson Way’s sixth phase. The newly opened 0.8-mile segment of the Cincinnati Riding or Walking Network brings the much-heralded off-street trail to Avondale, running from Blair Court through a wooded area alongside Interstate 71 to Woodburn Avenue at Xavier University’s campus in Evanston. Even though Xavier has yet to build its phase of the trail through campus, it is now possible to ride a bicycle, walk or run from Avondale to Mariemont, mostly off of busy streets, using Wasson Way and the Murray Path, which runs through Madisonville, Fairfax and Columbia Township. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/12/21/wasson-way-the-crown-completion.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 21, 20231 yr What a joke. The Crown appears to be mighty lopsided. Not a bit of it covers the west side of the city. Its a mear Half-Crown.
December 21, 20231 yr 15 minutes ago, TheCOV said: What a joke. The Crown appears to be mighty lopsided. Not a bit of it covers the west side of the city. Its a mear Half-Crown. I'm inspired to do a Burger King Crown - a ride connecting all Hamilton County Burger Kings.
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