Maybe jmicha[/member] or thebillshark[/member] or other Race St. residents would be able to answer this: Is there a plan to install pedestrian-level street lights on Race between, say, 14th and 15th? I had assumed that the telephone poles with cobra head lighting was supposed to be temporary, but I just noticed that when the sidewalk was redone, they did not pour foundations for street lights.

Some neighborhoods that look stable enough on the surface might have crime issues, a bad neighborhood school, noisy or inconsiderate neighbors, tax liens, onerous zoning/parking requirements for redevelopment and new construction, noxious odors (I'm looking at you Sam Adams), highway noise/pollution, or any number of other things that aren't immediately apparent. 

As far as I know they originally planned to remove those lights, bury the wiring and do a proper streetscaping at some point, but it would have added around 300k to the streetcar budget to do this during construction so we're basically stuck with them for awhile. Which is unfortunate. Because they're awful.

 

My last comment I made here about the Cincinnati Development Fund's building seems to have come true. They're doing work on the cornice at the moment.

 

And speaking of cornices, another concern of mine has been alleviated. The Osborne at 15th and Pleasant appeared that its cornice was going to be bracket-less since they restored one of the building's cornices then removed all scaffolding and began painting everything with the other two buildings just having a simple overhang and paneled cornice. But I noticed the other day when returning home that they have begun installing brackets. Which has made me happy since it looks so much better now.

New retail coming to OTR

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/10/02/exclusive-clifton-shop-owner-to-tackle-new-project.html

 

By years end 4 new retail businesses should be up and running on Vine/Republic.

 

 

Apparently there was a Findley Market community meeting last night.

 

Lots of interesting tidbits, but most interesting is that there is on going negotiations to bring 2 "brag worthy"  fine dining restaurants located in the globe building by Findley Market. 

 

 

Findlay needs some restaurants that will bring life after the market closes. That's exciting to hear. Any details? Market Wines should be excited at the prospect of new restaurants that can expand their business after hours. It would be the perfect place to grab drinks before dinner.

Here's someone's facebook post that the Crown reposted.

 

"Attended a program on Findlay Market yesterday. The speaker CEO Joe Hansbauer was a great presenter. A couple interesting tid bits. They're hoping that 2 brag-worthy restaurants will be opening next summer in the Globe and Crown buildings (serious conversations underway); the Market is examining ways to expand Pho Lang's kitchen which would allow it to serve dinner as well as lunch (yay! my favorite vegetarian eat-out); the folks at Fresh Table are going to manage the soon to open supermarkety store, "Epicurian," carrying staple items to compliment the Market's fresh, seasonal and specialty offerings; soon the Market will offer the Instacart delivery app--- for a flat $5 fee, a personal shopper will collect your order and deliver it to you (some items will carry a 10% surcharge---but as an example, you could have $100 worth of fine Findlay food delivered to your door for a max charge of $15!!)

 

Findlay is supporting our community and economy in so many ways beyond the Market---for instance, experiementing with distribution and profit models for small scale local farmers---that nourishes Cincinnati."

^ Exciting news for Findlay Market.  I know Model Group is going to start somewhat soon on their big plans on Race Street, and it looks like there is quite a bit of smaller development going around the market as well.  I think the Market Area will truly become an engine for the greater downtown basin area (for jobs, shopping and residents) as it continues to expand and renovate surrounding areas.  You can't duplicate Findlay Market with new development.

 

Comparing it to the Vine Street Corridor (more high end), Findlay Market is the perfect spot for permanent residents in the basin.

I agree with that statement, but considering neighborhoods like CUF, Covington North of 9th street, or even Betts-Longworth (tiny area I know) or Court Street in downtown Cincy there are plenty of areas that aren't quite places where one would have to "urban pioneer" as amenities are still pretty close by and they are generally safe places (or in Court Streets case the amenities are literally a block away), but they are still undervalued for one reason or another.  Covington IMO is the worst offender, the housing stock is in pretty good shape, mainstrasse has a lot of bars and restaurants and its a 15 min walk to downtown (or a 5 min bike ride) - you could be in OTR in 15 mins with a redbike (or a 10 min uber/lyft ride for like 6-7 dollars).

 

Also I'm not going to harp on anyone who wants to live in the middle of it all too, OTR for anyone who has bought into it will continue to grow as an investment for a while and there is totally an advantage to living in the heart instead of off to the side.  Though I'll argue that Cincinnatians idea of what's acceptable walking distance is surprisingly short given the urban form and compactness of the core city ;)

 

Thanks for making my point better than I did.  I think OTR is currently in an odd pickle -- on one hand prices are way higher than equivalent product within easy walking distance (condo prices might even be higher than similar units Downtown, which is insane), but on the other prices still aren't high enough to motivate the sort of rapid gentrification that has occurred in New York City and other big cities.  I'm not convinced that it's going to get to the point anytime soon to where we see people getting financing to rehab shells that they just overpaid for.  And Neil is also correct in noticing how impractically confined people's notions are of specific Cincinnati neighborhoods.  "City Hall West" is closer to Fountain Square than is OTR, yet people think of it as being further since the area around City Hall is pretty dead.  A few blocks north, homes and multifamilies in the West End with no serious structural issues are still listing for well under $50,000 despite being closer to Washington Park and Vine St. than is Pendleton.  The whole matter of Covington and Newport is another altogether.  There might be over 100 homes listed in Covington and Newport right now for $75,000 or less.  They run a run a wide gamut, but they're no further from Fountain Square than is UC but the prevailing sales price is much lower than CUF. 

 

The bottom line is you're not going to find a deal in Over-the-Rhine anymore but you definitely can 5 blocks away.  If you think paying $100-200k more to live on the cool side of Central Parkway is going to pay off when it's time to sell, it might but it probably won't.  You might realize a much higher rate of return just a few blocks away. 

Any word when 3CDC is going to start work on 15th and Race? Feels like it's been delayed forever...

The start date has been "late fall" for awhile now so they're still on schedule. I've been hearing late October to break ground.

City manager wants to spend some surplus FY 2015 money on turning Main into a 2- way street north of 12th. $125,000.

 

Seems like a lot of money to me. What has to happen that would make such a seemingly simple thing, so expensive?

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/10/06/how-cincinnati-s-city-manager-believes-the-city-s.html

I'm shocked the city manager is proposing this. I imagine a lot of the cost would be incurred by traffic signal changes.

 

Could this proposal be to try to block the streetcar from going up Main for the Mt. Auburn tunnel proposal? Would it be detrimental to have a two-way street on Main and a streetcar?

I'm shocked the city manager is proposing this. I imagine a lot of the cost would be incurred by traffic signal changes.

 

Could this proposal be to try to block the streetcar from going up Main for the Mt. Auburn tunnel proposal? Would it be detrimental to have a two-way street on Main and a streetcar?

 

My thoughts exactly.  I think it would be detrimental because the streetcar is on the left side of the street between Central and 12th otherwise you could make Main 2-way all the way to the Central Parkway.

My thoughts exactly. I think so because the streetcar is on the left side of the street between Central and 12th otherwise you could make Main 2-way all the way to the Central Parkway.

 

good point.

I wouldn't read any ulterior motives into this. The OTR community has been pushing for Main (and Walnut) to be converted back to two-way for quite some time. Most of the cost is probably for traffic signal work, but maybe the new sidewalks we'll be getting from 12-13th are coming out of this funding as well? Not sure.

OTR and downtown are dense and vibrant enough that they really do need one way streets, especially if the residential population continues to grow. I know the community has been pushing for it from a pedestrian standpoint, but from the perspective of anyone else in the city who frequents the area for non-residential purposes, the one way streets are an asset. People avoid driving on Vine currently because the entire street can become congested because of one person who doesn’t know how to parallel park but thinks they can wing it.

Outfitting a single 4-way intersection with traffic signals can easily cost $250,000 though on a street like this I'd figure lower because there's no need for turn arrows, detector loops, or extra signal heads.  Nevertheless, the cost of engineering, new poles, signals, span wires, and wiring that will need to be added to the existing intersections, plus reprogramming of controllers, lane re-striping, reworking of signage, parking zones, and such, all adds up pretty fast.  I'd actually call this a bargain.

OTR and downtown are dense and vibrant enough that they really do need one way streets, especially if the residential population continues to grow. I know the community has been pushing for it from a pedestrian standpoint, but from the perspective of anyone else in the city who frequents the area for non-residential purposes, the one way streets are an asset. People avoid driving on Vine currently because the entire street can become congested because of one person who doesn’t know how to parallel park but thinks they can wing it.

 

That's still a very windshield-centric viewpoint.  One-way streets only convenience through traffic.  In fact the one-way streets are a hindrance to navigating the neighborhood because the incomplete grid makes it more difficult to reach a particular destination without circuitous detours.  Convenience is not more important than safety. 

OTR and downtown are dense and vibrant enough that they really do need one way streets, especially if the residential population continues to grow. I know the community has been pushing for it from a pedestrian standpoint, but from the perspective of anyone else in the city who frequents the area for non-residential purposes, the one way streets are an asset. People avoid driving on Vine currently because the entire street can become congested because of one person who doesn’t know how to parallel park but thinks they can wing it.

 

That's still a very windshield-centric viewpoint.  One-way streets only convenience through traffic.  In fact the one-way streets are a hindrance to navigating the neighborhood because the incomplete grid makes it more difficult to reach a particular destination without circuitous detours.  Convenience is not more important than safety. 

 

They don't only convenience through traffic, but also traffic that either originates or arrives in the area. It's much easier to drive into or out of an area if the traffic flow is steady.

That's still a very windshield-centric viewpoint.  One-way streets only convenience through traffic.  In fact the one-way streets are a hindrance to navigating the neighborhood because the incomplete grid makes it more difficult to reach a particular destination without circuitous detours.  Convenience is not more important than safety.

 

I'm not sure how analogous it is to OTR given the population discrepancy, but Center City Philadelphia is comprised almost entirely of one way streets, including South Philly which is highly residential, and I found it much nicer to deal with as a pedestrian than areas with two-way streets. One-way streets can be narrower and allow pedestrians to just check one direction when crossing. Not saying it's exactly what OTR needs, but in principle one-way streets can be highly pedestrian-friendly and don't need to just convenience through traffic.

OTR and downtown are dense and vibrant enough that they really do need one way streets, especially if the residential population continues to grow. I know the community has been pushing for it from a pedestrian standpoint, but from the perspective of anyone else in the city who frequents the area for non-residential purposes, the one way streets are an asset. People avoid driving on Vine currently because the entire street can become congested because of one person who doesn’t know how to parallel park but thinks they can wing it.

 

That's still a very windshield-centric viewpoint.  One-way streets only convenience through traffic.  In fact the one-way streets are a hindrance to navigating the neighborhood because the incomplete grid makes it more difficult to reach a particular destination without circuitous detours.  Convenience is not more important than safety. 

 

They don't only convenience through traffic, but also traffic that either originates or arrives in the area. It's much easier to drive into or out of an area if the traffic flow is steady.

 

But is that a good thing?  Maintaining free "flow" of traffic is more dangerous for everyone, motorists included, but especially cyclists, pedestrians, children, and street furniture (oh won't someone PLEASE think of the street furniture!).  My point about one-way streets not being of much benefit to local trips is because the overhead of the extra circulating required to reach a particular destination is much more pronounced in a short trip compared to a long one, and the benefits of marginally improved traffic flow are pretty dubious when talking about trips that are only 5-10 minutes long anyway.  Cutting an hour trip down to 30 minutes is significant, but cutting 10 minutes down to 5 is of much less worth, and going from 5 minutes down to 2 1/2 is arguably pointless.

I don't mind one-ways in theory, but there are quite a few areas where you'll find people having to essentially drive in circles if parking isn't available where they first tried.

 

Wasn't it found that at any point in time as high as 1/3 of traffic in urban areas is just searching for parking? Seems like people trying to find parking (IE, not giving the entirety of their attention to where pedestrians are) is bad for pedestrians.

 

Cincy's streets are narrow enough though that they don't encourage or allow speeding like they do in other cities so a case-by-case basis makes sense to me.

Some neighborhoods that look stable enough on the surface might have crime issues, a bad neighborhood school, noisy or inconsiderate neighbors, tax liens, onerous zoning/parking requirements for redevelopment and new construction, noxious odors (I'm looking at you Sam Adams), highway noise/pollution, or any number of other things that aren't immediately apparent.

 

You'll be amazed what high rent pressures do to areas - check this out:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8927529,-87.6555106,3a,75y,269.28h,82.89t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smqtWeMGLRZwQ32O_lqz1Kg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DmqtWeMGLRZwQ32O_lqz1Kg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D297.79895%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Most of these buildings right next to a major expressway interchange which produces a lot of noise and pollution (plus there are not unpleasant smells from the nearby chocolate factory which could be a factor) and most of them are fairly expensive condos and townhouses.  Now I know you're going to say Chicago is apples to oranges, but I saw a 1 bedroom apartment being advertised in OTR next to Washington park for 1600/mo?!  That's pretty expensive even by Chicago standards* - the marketplace is going to respond to that kind of pressure and you'll get people upgrading even less than desirable areas. 

 

Stranger things happen in Chicago, this area which is filled with trucks and smells from an active meatpacker district has within the last few years become one of the highest rent districts in the city due to its proximity to some of the best restaurants in the city everything from fancy high end to high quality mid market (and even a few really nice cheap carryouts):

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/storyimage/CG/20150401/CRED03/150339950/AR/0/AR-150339950.jpg

next to apartments like this: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/storyimage/CG/20150317/CRED03/150319802/AR/0/Developers-to-sell-West-Loop-apartments.jpg which go for like 1800-2200 / mo for a 1 bedroom! - One neighborhood over you can get a high end 2 bedroom for 2000-2200/mo and this is still highish - there are apartments in nearby neighborhoods going for like 1400/mo for a 2 bedroom.

 

I guess what I'm getting at is at least in OTR that rules in Cincy have changed and we are going to see something like what's going on in more gentrified urban cities soon.  I think when rent pressures drive values up to a certain level people are more willing to put up with stuff they wouldn't otherwise put up with just to be near the cool part of town ;)

 

*I am wondering if its an outlier though, 1600/mo for a region with Cincy's per capita income is nuts...

 

 

 

Cincy's streets are narrow enough though that they don't encourage or allow speeding like they do in other cities so a case-by-case basis makes sense to me.

 

Main Street does get some speeders on it. Regularly motorcycle groups race down Main. It's only a matter of time before a pedestrian gets hit. Not saying that conversion to two way streets is the only way to fix the problem (speed bumps, brick/stone roads, smaller lanes, etc) but it is one solution.

 

Also, I would rather this money get spent on conversion of McMillan and Taft in Walnut Hills/EWH than Main Street in OTR. Speeding is much worse in that area than in OTR. Or spend some of the money on the road diet of Liberty. Or place physical curbs along the Central Parkway bike lane. There is better use of the money, though I won't complain if Main is turned into two way.

 

EDIT: Also, I would rather have Walnut converted than Main. it needs more help with businesses and gets more speeding. And Walnut could be converted from Central parkway to McMicken without interfering with the streetcar.

Narrowing Liberty Street would be a real coup.  I doubt Cranley supports it though (but I do know neighborhood groups around it support that).

EDIT: Also, I would rather have Walnut converted than Main. it needs more help with businesses and gets more speeding.

 

Well, the article says that the $125k is a "downpayment on an initiative that will be more expensive than the money allocated to it", and I would expect that if Main is converted, Walnut would have to be converted at about the same time. Otherwise we'd have Walnut and Race going southbound; Vine, Main, and Sycamore two-way; and only Elm going northbound. It wouldn't make a lot of sense.

It's possible that Cranley wants this 2-way conversion on Main in order to invent a problem with the streetcar.  Get ready for another round of total nonsense. 

I also don't get the desire for two-way conversions. It's not just car centric, it also allows the streetcar, bikes and buses to move easier. Also I like crossing one-ways better as a pedestrian because you only have to look one way... Ok that part is kind of a joke. If it were up to me, we would spend the money for two way conversions on making streets pedestrian only. I have a dream of pleasant street being a pedestrian only path connecting Washington park to Findlay with shops and stalls and landscaping along the route. Also the idea of making Main Street in OTR pedestrian only after a certain time of night similar would be great, but would probably require walnut to go two way to make it work. They already do it for second Sunday, why not very Saturday night? It works for bourbon street...

No one is proposing converting any one-way street that the streetcar uses to two-way.

 

Pedestrian only streets typically do not work in the US except for rare cases where a massive amount of pedestrians will support all of the businesses along that street (think Times Square). That's why in most mid-sized cities you are seeing some pedestrian malls ripped and replaced by "woonerf" or "festival street" concepts. If you build a space where cars, bikes, and pedestrians can all get along, it's better for everyone. Like a woonerf, two-way streets force cars to slow down and treat streets like streets, not like highways. Right now, when the lights turn green on Main Street in OTR, you have two lanes of cars gunning it between 12th and Liberty.

I'm for the conversion. Main is definitely lacking the intimacy of Vine St. and I think this is a big reason why. Main St. is great, but it still needs some help, there are too many vacant storefronts. Walnut should be converted at the same time too.

 

I hope that conversion to 12th St doesn't cause backups for the streetcar turning left onto twelth fighting with southbound cars turning right onto 12th. Ideally the streetcar would be in the right hand lane there and it would have been possible to convert to 2 way all the way to Central Parkway but that ship has sailed.

 

Re: streetcar extension to Mt. Auburn tunnel using Main, if we ever actually get our act together to build it, we could change the streets back to one way with dedicated transit lanes. This would probably be 10-15 years from now anyway so we'd get our time in with Main and Walnut as two way streets.

 

Had this crazy streetcar thought today: could we use the existing stub outs, and have them turn into Findlay Playground where they enter a Mt. Auburn tunnel at a downward angle to get below grade? You'd still have the "double back" issue but would avoid traveling on Vine (and the lights and traffic.)

Here's someone's facebook post that the Crown reposted.

 

"Attended a program on Findlay Market yesterday. The speaker CEO Joe Hansbauer was a great presenter. A couple interesting tid bits. They're hoping that 2 brag-worthy restaurants will be opening next summer in the Globe and Crown buildings (serious conversations underway); the Market is examining ways to expand Pho Lang's kitchen which would allow it to serve dinner as well as lunch (yay! my favorite vegetarian eat-out); the folks at Fresh Table are going to manage the soon to open supermarkety store, "Epicurian," carrying staple items to compliment the Market's fresh, seasonal and specialty offerings; soon the Market will offer the Instacart delivery app--- for a flat $5 fee, a personal shopper will collect your order and deliver it to you (some items will carry a 10% surcharge---but as an example, you could have $100 worth of fine Findlay food delivered to your door for a max charge of $15!!)

 

Findlay is supporting our community and economy in so many ways beyond the Market---for instance, experiementing with distribution and profit models for small scale local farmers---that nourishes Cincinnati."

 

Perhaps this is one of the restaurants, opening in the Globe building: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/10/07/exclusive-jean-robert-moving-restaurant-to-findlay.html

Main street is horrible right now from a pedestrian perspective.  People speed like crazy, they stop in the middle of the street, then other cars whip around them ,etc.  This has nothing to do with the Mayor or any negative intentions on the streetcar.  The conversion is supported by Main Street OTR (formerly Merchants of Main) and would be tied in with some bumpouts, etc.

OTR church opens its doors to show off new event space: PHOTOS

Oct 7, 2015, 2:59pm EDT Updated Oct 7, 2015, 3:33pm EDT

Erin Caproni Digital Producer Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Over-the-Rhine is now home to a premier event space housed in a historic church.

 

The Transept made its debut on Wednesday after months of renovation in the German gothic St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church on Elm Street across from Washington Park.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/10/07/otr-church-opens-its-doors-to-show-off-new-event.html

Main street is horrible right now from a pedestrian perspective.  People speed like crazy, they stop in the middle of the street, then other cars whip around them ,etc.  This has nothing to do with the Mayor or any negative intentions on the streetcar.  The conversion is supported by Main Street OTR (formerly Merchants of Main) and would be tied in with some bumpouts, etc.

 

I think the 2-way conversion would help alleviate a lot of the congestion that exists there on Friday and Saturday nights since  lot of the traffic is frivolous cruising and idling cabs/uber/lyft cars who feel free to idle since there is an open lane.  Eliminate a few of the parking meters and do a 10-minute pickup zone for the uber and lyft cars. 

 

 

Main street is horrible right now from a pedestrian perspective.  People speed like crazy, they stop in the middle of the street, then other cars whip around them ,etc.  This has nothing to do with the Mayor or any negative intentions on the streetcar.  The conversion is supported by Main Street OTR (formerly Merchants of Main) and would be tied in with some bumpouts, etc.

 

I think the 2-way conversion would help alleviate a lot of the congestion that exists there on Friday and Saturday nights since  lot of the traffic is frivolous cruising and idling cabs/uber/lyft cars who feel free to idle since there is an open lane.  Eliminate a few of the parking meters and do a 10-minute pickup zone for the uber and lyft cars.

 

That's cute Jake. Take away parking meters and lose all that revenue? Where do you think you are?

Cincinnati preservation collective looking for like minded applicants to the Conservation Board:

2 Strong Start up Companies are merging together, and will begin an incubator and workshop, as well as sell retail of there product. Will open in December on Walnut in the final 3CDC completed space next to 16 bit.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/10/09/cincinnati-creative-firms-merge-claim-final-space.html

The Brewery District just posted a neat timelapse video that shows the painting of the mural on the Moerlein Brewery, as well of the expansion of Grant Park (reconfiguration of the Walnut/McMicken intersection):

 

 

 

3cdc is looking to open up a new bar/restaurant on 15th and Pleasant.

 

People are concerned though since it's on a resident street, and it will create noise.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/10/15/3cdc-wants-to-bring-a-restaurant-to-its-new-otr.html

If ya live in a city there's gonna be noise.

It's not like OTR was originally built as a residential neighborhood and suddenly retail is trying to sneak in. OTR has always been an urban, mixed-use neighborhood. So if these people don't want retail nearby, they should move to a side street in Hyde Park or something.

It's not like OTR was originally built as a residential neighborhood and suddenly retail is trying to sneak in. OTR has always been an urban, mixed-use neighborhood. So if these people don't want retail nearby, they should move to a side street in Hyde Park or something.

 

Or Betts Longworth

 

That particular address is zoned for Multifamily Residential, not Community Commercial-Pedestrian like much of nearby Race Street, so there is some footing to oppose a restaurant/bar there.

Nice little piece on OTR...

 

Jessie: Over-The-Rhine, Cincinnati

by John Sanphillippo 10/17/2015

 

 

This is Jessie. She’s a well educated thirty year old professional with a good income. She could live anywhere she wants. She was offered excellent positions with good companies in San Francisco. While she was excited by the opportunity to live in a top tier coastal city she was smart enough to actually run the numbers before taking a job.

 

http://www.newgeography.com/content/005073-jessie-over-the-rhine-cincinnati

Cincy's street grid was based off of Philly, I'm pretty sure the streets in the core of Cincy are the same width as much of Philly's center city.

 

That's still a very windshield-centric viewpoint.  One-way streets only convenience through traffic.  In fact the one-way streets are a hindrance to navigating the neighborhood because the incomplete grid makes it more difficult to reach a particular destination without circuitous detours.  Convenience is not more important than safety.

 

I'm not sure how analogous it is to OTR given the population discrepancy, but Center City Philadelphia is comprised almost entirely of one way streets, including South Philly which is highly residential, and I found it much nicer to deal with as a pedestrian than areas with two-way streets. One-way streets can be narrower and allow pedestrians to just check one direction when crossing. Not saying it's exactly what OTR needs, but in principle one-way streets can be highly pedestrian-friendly and don't need to just convenience through traffic.

In an Urbane city that accommodates all forms of transportation not a backwater hick town ;).  Its actually a good idea.

 

Main street is horrible right now from a pedestrian perspective.  People speed like crazy, they stop in the middle of the street, then other cars whip around them ,etc.  This has nothing to do with the Mayor or any negative intentions on the streetcar.  The conversion is supported by Main Street OTR (formerly Merchants of Main) and would be tied in with some bumpouts, etc.

 

I think the 2-way conversion would help alleviate a lot of the congestion that exists there on Friday and Saturday nights since  lot of the traffic is frivolous cruising and idling cabs/uber/lyft cars who feel free to idle since there is an open lane.  Eliminate a few of the parking meters and do a 10-minute pickup zone for the uber and lyft cars.

 

That's cute Jake. Take away parking meters and lose all that revenue? Where do you think you are?

I play in a band and it would be very hard to load into a venue with two way traffic on Main.

You could probably load on 14th to get to the Woodward or MOTR. And Drinkery has a taxi stand really close, so I'm sure you could use that for a 10 minutes while you unload your equipment.

That's why Jake suggested loading zones...

 

Here's a good example, and if you think the traffic is bad on mainstreet at midnight you should see what Milwaukee Ave is like (and it is two way).

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9100148,-87.6769054,3a,37.1y,240.27h,83.32t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWOIMzsE7vqwkc9cJqkuXwg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

 

night photo of traffic add in cabs everywhere and people jaywalking everywhere:

 

http://cdn.partyearth.com/photos/f960d0927e9bdf70e67dac309d04c35c/wicker-park-bucktown_s460.jpg?1375010485

 

There is one thing Chicago does that Cincinnati should do on streets like this - if they are flat the street should have dashed yellow lines which make it legal for cars to go over the line to get around stopped vehicles.  I don't know how many times I've driven on Vine in OTR and wished that was there (though sometimes I just go ahead and do it).