How are those "streateries" engineered steel boxes? (Genuinely interested in your statement that these were crash tested to withstand impact.) Those do look to be more robust than what I saw all over New York City, but my general opinion is that if these are to remain as permanent fixtures, let's implement proper infrastructure to support these additions. So to answer your multiple choice exam, it's D.

I hate it here

36 minutes ago, Dev said:

I hate it here

 

"Near Gridlock"?

You could (and plenty of people do) drag race on there 24 hours a day. They're so unnecessary.  Also, someone crashed into the fencing on the new park there, presumably because they were traveling an unsafe speed.

I biked over there for the first time a month ago.  The sounds of the beaters flying through at 60mph really kills the vibe.  I heard ducks, tons of different bugs, and birds while i was there... but their sound all ended up getting drowned out by cars speeding.

42 minutes ago, Dev said:

I hate it here

 

Is there anyway for the public to see the data and models that lead to the conclusion it would lead to "near gridlock traffic conditions"?

 

Can they provide more detail than that? "Near gridlock traffic conditions" could mean a lot of things, let's see some data.

 

Can city council force further action?

2 hours ago, 10albersa said:

"Near Gridlock"?

You could (and plenty of people do) drag race on there 24 hours a day. They're so unnecessary.  Also, someone crashed into the fencing on the new park there, presumably because they were traveling an unsafe speed.

I biked over there for the first time a month ago.  The sounds of the beaters flying through at 60mph really kills the vibe.  I heard ducks, tons of different bugs, and birds while i was there... but their sound all ended up getting drowned out by cars speeding.

 

Remember when beaters drove really slowly everywhere? Pepperidge Farm remembers. 

15 hours ago, carnevalem said:

 

Is there anyway for the public to see the data and models that lead to the conclusion it would lead to "near gridlock traffic conditions"?

 

Can they provide more detail than that? "Near gridlock traffic conditions" could mean a lot of things, let's see some data.

 

Can city council force further action?

Not to the extent that you are asking for but ODOT has two websites with traffic data and OKI has one. To me it seems pretty clear that the modeling does not exist and he's just saying all this because he doesn't want to deal with it. They could provide more context but don't want to bother.

Yes city council can force more action. They could pass a motion asking for more specific detail or even go so far as pass an ordinance telling the city to fix the street. They probably won't though.

Re: Fairmount: The park won’t reach full potential with the speeding traffic, no one is going to try to renovate the historic buildings with the speeding traffic, and it’s a race against time before they crumble to the ground. 

Would take years to do, but perhaps you could dedicate one lane as transit only on Queen City and Westwood, physically separated with barriers, looping around the park and run the streetcar over the new viaduct to it
 

 

I would love traffic calming around the new park/creek area and I do think this area has potential. However I don't think this should be in discussion as a streetcar extension to focus on. The main current complaint about the streetcar is that it "doesn't go anywhere" and if we extend it to Fairmount that will instantly change to "it's a train to nowhere". The next segment needs to either connect to Uptown, Walnut Hills or Newport/Covington where dense walkable neighborhoods already exist with businesses and residents who will use it regularly. The streetcar as economic driver and circulator is how we got the current crooked figure eight, but I want the next phase to be an actual commuter rail that gets people to and from a place. Unfortunately Fairmount isn't really a place, and though in-between two places, Price Hill and Northside, it would serve neither. 

47 minutes ago, ucgrady said:

I would love traffic calming around the new park/creek area and I do think this area has potential. However I don't think this should be in discussion as a streetcar extension to focus on. The main current complaint about the streetcar is that it "doesn't go anywhere" and if we extend it to Fairmount that will instantly change to "it's a train to nowhere". The next segment needs to either connect to Uptown, Walnut Hills or Newport/Covington where dense walkable neighborhoods already exist with businesses and residents who will use it regularly. The streetcar as economic driver and circulator is how we got the current crooked figure eight, but I want the next phase to be an actual commuter rail that gets people to and from a place. Unfortunately Fairmount isn't really a place, and though in-between two places, Price Hill and Northside, it would serve neither. 

i agree with a lot of these points. The main problem with extending the streetcar to Fairmount is the lack of a strong anchor at the end of the line. For the original streetcar route Findlay Market fit that role nicely. 

Additionally Fairmount doesn’t have a lot of flat land area to develop along Queen City/Westwood but I wonder if there is potential for hillside streets to develop like in CUF and Mt Auburn. Fairmount is going to need a lot of help to redevelop and it may take a bold idea like streetcar to get developers to take notice 

 

from Fairmount you could extend into the Woods up to the Ferguson Rd. Walmart area. That would be a longer route to the West Side 

 

But the longer you extend a line the more of a problem the mixed traffic sections will become which can potentially slow or stop the whole thing if someone parks over the line. 
 

additionally you could go straight up Harrison where a lot of the streets originally developed along a streetcar line in the first place. That line couldn’t loop around lick run park though 

Edited September 27, 20222 yr by thebillshark

I actually recently wrote a Twitter thread about extending the streetcar via dedicated lanes in South Fairmount, in response to Westwood's vote in support of expanding the streetcar. I don't think it's necessarily the best option for expanding the streetcar, but a good transit line with political support is better than a perfect line with no support. The real prize is a rail line to somewhere near Western Hills High School, where a new transit center serving all the West Side bus lines could be built.

 

 

19 minutes ago, carnevalem said:

The real prize is a rail line to somewhere near Western Hills High School, where a new transit center serving all the West Side bus lines could be built.

 

Yes there is nothing special about the current location of the West Side transit center/bus line terminus which might as well be in the middle of the desert at the edge of the Bargains and Buyouts parking lot. There is no employment center or density nearby. Would be awesome if it was at a strategic location connected to rail 

Edited September 27, 20222 yr by thebillshark

I disagree. I think the capacity for housing in this section is very, very high and there are blank parcels from the Lick Run project that could easily be developed into TOD. Extending it this area would be a great companion project, especially if there is a separated, transit only lane on the WHV replacement and on Central Parkway, both of which are easily possible due to current traffic counts.

9 minutes ago, Dev said:

Extending it this area would be a great companion project, especially if there is a separated, transit only lane on the WHV replacement and on Central Parkway, both of which are easily possible due to current traffic counts.

I think with the new WHV project things could fall into place for this extension & community leaders from Mohawk to Westwood would support. 

17 minutes ago, Dev said:

I disagree. I think the capacity for housing in this section is very, very high and there are blank parcels from the Lick Run project that could easily be developed into TOD. Extending it this area would be a great companion project, especially if there is a separated, transit only lane on the WHV replacement and on Central Parkway, both of which are easily possible due to current traffic counts.

 

I was surprised when I realized how much development potential there is in South Fairmount, an area I had previously overlooked. A streetcar extension over the new Western Hills Viaduct would be transformational for South Fairmount and the Mohawk area of OTR. As I noted in my thread, a lot of the land that would benefit from this project is already in the hands of local governments. Selling it to developers could cover some of the project's capital costs.

 

However, I'm a little more skeptical of extending the streetcar up to Westwood (and Cheviot), as I don't think it would be much of an improvement of Metro route 21. But if the political will in Westwood proves strong enough to get this project done, my hope is we can leverage it to build a spur to a Western Hills transit center.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Dev said:

and on Central Parkway

I also imagine Central Parkway as a possible route, but I think it only makes sense if we use the subway tunnels, otherwise we might as well reuse the streetcar tracks a block away. Options 2 and 3 below could provided grade-separated rail from South Fairmount to downtown. CSX and Cincinnati still own most of the right of way on the southern South Fairmount hillside, so I think it's even possible to be grade separated all the way up to Western Hills. 

 

Edited September 27, 20222 yr by carnevalem

3 hours ago, Dev said:

Yes city council can force more action. They could pass a motion asking for more specific detail or even go so far as pass an ordinance telling the city to fix the street. They probably won't though.

 

 

CM Jeff Cramerding calling for a motion to discuss the reports findings.

 

 

Edited September 27, 20222 yr by carnevalem

Just now, carnevalem said:

 

 

Yeah I watched it. They didn't pushback at all.

The obvious follow-up should have been, why is it okay for 23k cars to gut a neighborhood every day? What will it take to reduce that number over time? Everyone is taking the baseline as the required status quo, what does it take to make a meaningful cut in those numbers?

23 minutes ago, carnevalem said:

I also imagine Central Parkway as a possible route, but I think it only makes sense if we use the subway tunnels, otherwise we might as well reuse the streetcar tracks a block away. Options 2 and 3 below could provided grade-separated rail from South Fairmount to downtown. CSX and Cincinnati still own most of the right of way on the southern South Fairmount hillside, so I think it's even possible to be grade separated all the way up to Western Hills. 

 

There's no reason why the streetcar has to be in mix traffic along Central Parkway. We do not need 4 and 6 lanes for cars through there. Reusing the subway tunnels would be extremely expensive, just to relocate the water main alone. With current funding opportunities, I really doubt that's a realistic option. Green is part of CROWN so I think that ship has already sailed.

12 minutes ago, carnevalem said:

 

 

CM Jeff Cramerding calling for a motion to discuss the reports findings.

 

 

That's not what this tweet is saying. The report is in response to a motion he filed in the past and it was discussed at the infrastructure committee meeting earlier today.

1 hour ago, carnevalem said:

 

 

Due to topography, I think the blue line would have to jog over to and use Central Parkway between Mohawk Place intersection and Western Hills Viaduct. You also gain a Brighton stop that way which would be a plus. 

I think Option 1 is the best way to go. My reasoning is that you can create a light rail line under the radar by creating separate transit lanes. This will also help with traffic calming. See the image of Salt Lake's TRAX running in the street. This line could also extend up Gilbert to Xavier and Hyde Park.

 

 

Along Jefferson Ave, somebody (presumably University police) set up LED signs in the median at Taft and MLK that say something like "SLOW DOWN. PEDESTRIANS IN AREA." And there were two University Police patrol vehicles with their lights flashing, one at Charlton and one at University. It's heartening to see UC is taking immediate action and it's a damnation of the street design that it needs this much intervention. I really hope UC and the City work together to redesign the street to be safer. As part of the redesign, I hope they remove the free on-street parking on the east side of Jefferson (west side of Clifton Ave also has free on-street parking that should be metered). There shouldn't be free on-street parking right on the edge of campus. 

 

How insulting. Non-serious response

Well…they are getting absolutely roasted on Twitter over this.

Big opportunity here  
 

Just now, Dev said:

Here we go. It's going to be interesting to see how this goes.

 

  

1 minute ago, Dev said:

 

 

There will be a public meeting on Thurs. Nov. 17, 2022 to talk about proposed use of TIF District funds for a feasibility for a 2-way conversion of Race St. and Vine Street in the Central Business District.

 

 

On 11/3/2022 at 1:16 PM, carnevalem said:

There will be a public meeting on Thurs. Nov. 17, 2022 to talk about proposed use of TIF District funds for a feasibility for a 2-way conversion of Race St. and Vine Street in the Central Business District.

 

 

I am a little confused here. Why the two-step process and will this result in actual construction documents?

ORDINANCE, submitted by Councilmember Jeffreys, from Emily Smart Woerner, City Solicitor, ADOPTING a Complete Streets policy for the design, construction, operation, repair and replacement of new and existing roadways within the City as an official policy of the City Council.

https://cincinnatioh.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5934275&GUID=4D33F18F-DE25-449D-B847-C331D417A8E6&Options=ID|Text|&Search=

Good stuff from Councilmember Jeffreys!

 

Quote

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Cincinnati, State of Ohio:

Section 1. That the City Council hereby adopts a Complete Streets policy for the design, construction, operation, repair, and replacement of new and existing roadways within the City as an official policy of the Council.

 

Section 2. That the Council's goals in adopting this policy include: a. Providing multimodal accommodations that increase connectivity for street users of all ages and abilities; b. Improving safety for all street and roadway users, particularly those groups that face comparatively greater safety risks, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, children, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities; and c. Increasing the comfort of street and roadway users, contributing to a sense of place, and creating a more pleasant experience for the street user.

 

Section 3. That the City Council authorizes the City Manager and the proper City officials to establish formal guidance for incorporating Complete Streets principles into the design, construction, operation, repair, and replacement of new and existing roadways, and to establish and revise related rules, regulations, policies, manuals, and procedures in order to incorporate Complete Streets principles, which guidance and revisions should make provision for appropriate levels of community engagement.

 

Section 4. That the City Council further authorizes the City Manager and the proper City officials to establish a formal reporting protocol for measuring the City's progress in implementing the Complete Streets policy, which reporting may include metrics such as (i) total miles of new bike facilities; (ii) linear feet of new pedestrian accommodation; (iii) number of curb-ramp installations along city streets; (iv) number of traffic-calming improvements; (v) number of safety improvements; (vi) number of comfort enhancements; (vii) number of projects in each neighborhood; and (viii) number of crashes, injuries, and fatalities by mode of transportation.

 

This...doesn't seem good to me at all. Using words like "authorizes" and "may" makes it sound like the city can just pick and choose what they want to do.

 

Cincinnati plans to make room for more bikes, pedestrians, transit on streets

By Chris Wetterich  –  Staff reporter and columnist, Cincinnati Business Courier

Dec 5, 2022

 

As the city of Cincinnati fixes its streets in the coming years, the administration will look to add bike and transit lanes as well as improve sidewalks, making it easier for everyone to use them, not just motorists.

 

Cincinnati City Council unanimously approved a complete streets ordinance last week, mandating the city’s transportation department consider how to add new street features when they rehabilitate a street, add new traffic lights or other safety measures or make improvements for pedestrian safety.

 

The new complete streets ordinance was backed by the Sierra Club, the American Heart Association and Tristate Trails, an advocacy organization for bicycle users.

 

MORE

3 hours ago, The_Cincinnati_Kid said:

Cincinnati plans to make room for more bikes, pedestrians, transit on streets

By Chris Wetterich  –  Staff reporter and columnist, Cincinnati Business Courier

Dec 5, 2022

 

As the city of Cincinnati fixes its streets in the coming years, the administration will look to add bike and transit lanes as well as improve sidewalks, making it easier for everyone to use them, not just motorists.

 

Cincinnati City Council unanimously approved a complete streets ordinance last week, mandating the city’s transportation department consider how to add new street features when they rehabilitate a street, add new traffic lights or other safety measures or make improvements for pedestrian safety.

 

The new complete streets ordinance was backed by the Sierra Club, the American Heart Association and Tristate Trails, an advocacy organization for bicycle users.

 

MORE

Money quotes from the article:

Quote

These are “the amenities that actually make people want to be in that space,” said John Brazina, director of the city’s department of transportation and engineering.

Quote

Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney said she preferred a street design where parked cars are on the outside of a protected bike lane that runs next to the curb.

Nice to finally have a city administration that is on board with these issues.

https://eastwalnuthills.org/victory-pkwy-park-ave-bridge-improvements-community-input-needed/

6 minutes ago, dnymck said:

https://eastwalnuthills.org/victory-pkwy-park-ave-bridge-improvements-community-input-needed/

Great to see this! No reason for that road to have 4 lanes. 

A RFQ package is on the city's bid website to manage the "State-to-Central: Building Better Neighborhoods" project. This is the big $20 million RAISE grant the city won. The entire application for the grant is included in the package but more specifically, the appendix includes these 2 options:

 

The city recently uploaded the bid package for this year's pedestrian safety improvements, which feature a lot of crosswalks and speed cushions. Here are some notable ones:

 

Hamilton & North Bend - College Hill

 

Delta & Columbia Parkway - Columbia Tusculum

 

Columbia Pkwy b/w Stanley and Tusculum

 

Madison & Woodburn - East Walnut Hills

On 5/25/2023 at 12:02 PM, dnymck said:

The city recently uploaded the bid package for this year's pedestrian safety improvements, which feature a lot of crosswalks and speed cushions. Here are some notable ones:

It will be interesting to see if there is any political fallout from all of these. I doubt there will be any, but you never know. It's more likely that residents will be demanding that more of these get built in their own neighborhoods, which is why starting with the most obvious locations should help build momentum to continue this program everywhere.

 

On 5/28/2023 at 6:16 PM, Dev said:

It will be interesting to see if there is any political fallout from all of these. I doubt there will be any, but you never know. It's more likely that residents will be demanding that more of these get built in their own neighborhoods, which is why starting with the most obvious locations should help build momentum to continue this program everywhere.

 

 

Are there any planned for Walnut Hills?  People really go nuts on the WM H Taft hill, both uphill and downhill, between Hackberry and Collins.  

 

Two were recently installed in Clifton.  One on Clifton near McAlpin and another on Ludlow halfway down the hill.  

 

 

 

 

43 minutes ago, Lazarus said:

Are there any planned for Walnut Hills?  People really go nuts on the WM H Taft hill, both uphill and downhill, between Hackberry and Collins.

Yes but just a raised crosswalk on McMillan at Chatham Street.

 

Lots of updates on traffic calming projects were provided at the College Hill Forum last night:

 

Devou Good presented their final plans for the Hamilton Ave/North Bend road diet. All the materials will be "interim" but sounds like they'll use a heftier flexibollard for the bike lane than the Central Parkway ones. Maybe this was already announced, but it was new to me, a "bus bulb" will be installed along North Bend so that buses don't have to exit the travel lane into the bike lane in order to pick up passengers on the sidewalk. Not sure if it's just one or where it'll be located, maybe they're consolidating some stops in order to achieve this? Plan is to install mid-July, should take two weeks. They also mentioned that DOTE will make a determination soon whether the Ham/North Bend intersection can restrict right turns on red.

 

CHCURC will be installing curb extensions at five non-signalized intersections along Hamilton Avenue. The extensions will be made with flexibollards and the pavement inside of them will feature murals on the ground. Plan is to start work mid-July.

 

Finally, DOTE will be installing the speed cushions on Hamilton Ave north of North Bend sometime in mid-late July as well.

 

Lots of exciting changes coming in the next month.

19 minutes ago, dnymck said:

Lots of updates on traffic calming projects were provided at the College Hill Forum last night:

 

Devou Good presented their final plans for the Hamilton Ave/North Bend road diet. All the materials will be "interim" but sounds like they'll use a heftier flexibollard for the bike lane than the Central Parkway ones. Maybe this was already announced, but it was new to me, a "bus bulb" will be installed along North Bend so that buses don't have to exit the travel lane into the bike lane in order to pick up passengers on the sidewalk. Not sure if it's just one or where it'll be located, maybe they're consolidating some stops in order to achieve this? Plan is to install mid-July, should take two weeks. They also mentioned that DOTE will make a determination soon whether the Ham/North Bend intersection can restrict right turns on red.

 

CHCURC will be installing curb extensions at five non-signalized intersections along Hamilton Avenue. The extensions will be made with flexibollards and the pavement inside of them will feature murals on the ground. Plan is to start work mid-July.

 

Finally, DOTE will be installing the speed cushions on Hamilton Ave north of North Bend sometime in mid-late July as well.

 

Lots of exciting changes coming in the next month.

Here's the most recent plan

Bus Bulb will be installed in front of the library, which reminds me: library will be adding a bike repair facility to this branch.

City wins $2M+ federal grant to redesign Westwood Northern Boulevard

 

Quote

 

 

Cincinnati will use a $2,275,000 federal grant to redesign four miles of Westwood Northern Boulevard.

 

Officials will conduct a complete streets study of the corridor from Hopple Street on the east, to the city border near Boudinot Avenue on the west. It runs through five neighborhoods: Westwood, East Westwood, Millvale, North Fairmount, and English Woods.

.....

 

"This really is a big deal," Pureval said. "By creating the groundwork for a safer, multimodal street that everyone can access, we're making sure that some of our most underserved communities are getting the attention and investment they deserve."

 

The grant only covers the design phase and it’s not yet clear how the city will fund actual construction. Williams says there are several other grants that could be part of the equation.

 

 

fyi -- our suburban minded staten island newspaper editor chimed in on this topic today ---

 

 

 

 

Cincinnati voters should think twice before undoing restrictions on red-light cameras, speed cameras (opinion)

 

Published: Jul. 29, 2023

 

By Tom Wrobleski | [email protected]

 

 

The use of red-light cameras is prohibited in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

 

Voters in 2008 approved the ban by a 51% margin. That charter amendment also placed limitations on all traffic photo-monitoring devices, including speed cameras.

 

The prohibitions were put in place because voters and state lawmakers believed that the devices were nothing more than a money grab.

 

It was thought that local officials wanted to use the devices to fill budget gaps or to fund pet projects, not to save lives.

 

There was also concern about motorists in minority communities being inordinately targeted in jurisdictions where traffic cameras are in use.

 

PBS recently reported that tickets and fines generated by speed cameras in places like Chicago “fell disproportionately on Black and brown drivers.”

 

But some in Cincinnati are now looking to put the traffic-camera ban back on the ballot, thinking that they made a mistake the first time around. They want to repeal the prohibition.

 

They want to tamp down increasing pedestrian injuries and deaths. They want to make city streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

 

And, yes, they’ll certainly take all the revenue that will no doubt be generated.

 

 

more:

https://www.silive.com/news/2023/07/cincinnati-voters-should-think-twice-before-undoing-restrictions-on-red-light-cameras-speed-cameras-opinion.html

 

We've lived your future out. (Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance)

 

FYI, at last night's Special Meeting of Vice Mayor Kearney's Healthy Neighborhoods Committee in College Hill, Mel McVay, the Vision Zero manager, stated that she will be reaching out to community councils in January for their annual project request. It is a competitive program, so there will be a scoring rubric to prioritize which projects get funding and it will only be one request per council.

No studies, just evidence-based reality