I have been thinking about this possibility a lot lately, and I decided I would make a quick graphic to illustrate what I am thinking of for this site.  First off my thinking behind this is that potentially the new I-75/71 bridge could reroute I-75 slightly...and the most logical choice (imo) would be to reroute it as follows.

 

This would allow for the preservation of both Longworth Hall and the Duke Energy Sub-Station...as a result it would essentially free up about 8 blocks or so of redevelopment for the western edge of downtown...here is my vision, what does everyone else think...

 

 

It is quite simple, and I have not gone into any research about the specifics of the site, but I think that this could be GREAT for downtown and Cincinnati as a whole should things fall out this way.  Is this realistic at all, and what other thoughts do you all have for this possible reclaiming of land for downtown??

It would free up about the same amount of space as the banks.  with city west just to the north, there could be a nice residential/ commerical mix.  If the streetcar gets built on race and elm that would be great.

Could you imagine this?

 

Get rid of the ramps onto and off of I-75 and substitute gateway boulevards in their place -- much as we did with Fort Washington Way and Second and Third Streets.

 

It would recover a lot of land and get rid of the jungle of columns and overhead structures that will otherwise serve as barriers casting shadows and creating barriers no matter where I-75 ends up.

 

We could give new life to Liberty and Central Parkway as part of such a rethinking.

 

With respect to the new Brent Spence, the vertical is just as important as the horizontal.

 

Food for thought.

^I think that I understand what you're saying, but not really...please clarify :|

That is one sharp right angle to Ft. Washington Way. ;)

^I think that I understand what you're saying, but not really...please clarify :|

 

Say we removed the on- and off-ramps at Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth and recovered all the land those ramps take up.

 

Then build two one-way boulevards alongside I-75 from the Museum Center to Second and Third. And intergrate them with seamlessly with Liberty and Central Parkway -- making a whole system of landscaped gateways into the CBD, OTR and the West End.

 

By doing this at FWW, we recovered about fifteen acres of land and reduced the impact of the highway on adjacent land use. You'd gain three or four times that much if you did the same thing along I-75. And you'd breathe a lot of life into the land along Central Parkway and Liberty.

It looks good to me.  I would love to get rid of that snarl of ramps and overpasses disappear.

It looks better at night:

 

That is one sharp right angle to Ft. Washington Way. ;)

 

Obviously both of those lines are representative of the paths I-75 and FWW would take...not the actual space.  The would of course have to be ramps and what not.

 

Say we removed the on- and off-ramps at Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth and recovered all the land those ramps take up.

 

Then build two one-way boulevards alongside I-75 from the Museum Center to Second and Third. And intergrate them with seamlessly with Liberty and Central Parkway -- making a whole system of landscaped gateways into the CBD, OTR and the West End.

 

By doing this at FWW, we recovered about fifteen acres of land and reduced the impact of the highway on adjacent land use. You'd gain three or four times that much if you did the same thing along I-75. And you'd breathe a lot of life into the land along Central Parkway and Liberty.

 

I think we're on to something here....I seriously think we should inform someone down at city hall of our ideas, since there is no planning department I wonder if anyone in the city government is thinking about these kinds of things  :|

City Hall knows. As does ODOT.

^If thats the case..then do you think that the powers at be are leaning towards this rerouting of 75...thus allowing for a massive redevelopment opportunity?  I really hope so, it would be a GREAT kick in the pants for downtown to get massive residential/entertainment influxes from both the Banks and potentially this project!!!

Speaking of no planning department, why not?

 

Shouldn't that be a mandatory position to have for a mid-tier city?

^If thats the case..then do you think that the powers at be are leaning towards this rerouting of 75...thus allowing for a massive redevelopment opportunity?  I really hope so, it would be a GREAT kick in the pants for downtown to get massive residential/entertainment influxes from both the Banks and potentially this project!!!

 

... unless your business happens to be in the path of the re-routing. There are a lot of trade-offs here.

Shouldn't that be a mandatory position to have for a mid-tier city?

 

One would think so...but you work with what you've got I guess.  :|

If Cincinnat/Hamilton Co. could somehow figure out how to someday work together and get rid of that interchange monstrosity, they would be my urban planning heroes. I love Cincy but every time I see a picture of it, that interchange just sticks out as a sore thumb.

 

What bugs me the most, is the Mt. Adams separation from downtown - via I71/6th St. overpass.