When I lived in Clifton Heights, we got on 471 at Liberty and got off at Memorial Parkway. Getting on a Liberty allowed us to be in the left two lanes which are more often than not uncongested, and no one knows that Memorial Parkway turns into E 10th St. Add in free side street parking, and it can be a nice drive.

 

 

Personally, I think they could do a better job in informing drivers that Grand Avenue and Memorial Parkway lead into Newport, and are effective and sometimes quicker alternate routes into the city. Additionally, getting off at those exits make it easier to navigate into the side streets and park for free. I wonder how many drivers actually know that Memorial Parkway, Grand Avenue, and US27 all lead into downtown Newport. Making that known could releive congestion slightly, or give people a more visible alternate route.

Wooster makeover raising prospects

By Steve Kemme

Enquirer staff writer

 

COLUMBIA TWP. - For decades, the Wooster Pike business district in Columbia Township has been a mishmash of little stores, service stations and other small businesses.

 

That heavily traveled four-lane segment of Wooster Pike has been known for a high number of traffic accidents and has been prone to flooding during heavy rain.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050919/NEWS01/509190350/1056

It has several clogged arteries.I sense a total blockage soon. And ifi didn't know better, I think I-71will be busier than I-75 in no time. I was stuck in traffinc for 50 minutes this morning going southbound.I didn't see an accident or hear of any on I-71 either.

Welcome to my world. Cross county to dana every morning and afternoon :-)

Cross county? Hell it started before Fields Ertle.

Every time I take 71 or 75 it reminds me how much I love living and working downtown. You guys can have that!

I know it starts before Fields Ertle I was just saying to get to school everyday and back i have to get on at cross county which is plenty bad.

I prefer the capillaries.  They're pretty free of plaque.

Heart attack, eh?  Better cut back on the onion rings and cheeseburgers.  (Or is it---God forbid--too much chili? :-o)

Ah the joys of the West side, if 74 is backed up I can take wonderful arterials and collectors such as Harrison, Westwood-Northern, and West Fork into town.and still be at UC quicker than anyone who lives in Mason or West Chester.

I-71 has some major issues.  Pfieffer Road, Montgomery Road, Edwards Road and of course the dreaded two lane merger of Ridge.  All of these are awful.  Pfieffer Road is the weirdest though.  I can't figure out why traffic bottlenecks there, it is a standard on and off ramp and nothing unique is happening yet you can always count on backups happening around this exit going north and southbound.

I get to reverse commute, which is great - get on at Taft every day, drive to Pfieffer, then back at night...but yeah, the whole Blue Ash area just blows.  Seems like the infrastructure off the highway just isn't sufficient to throughput enough traffic...I've waited through multiple light cycles at Kenwood southbound trying to turn left onto Pfieffer at night heading home - it's like Reid Hartmann and all the feeders are efficient enough to flow way too many cars onto Pfieffer all at once, and it just bottlenecks.  Then the access from Pfieffer east to 71 N just sucks, sucks, sucks.  But no matter how bad it is, I'm always thrilled that I'm not driving S in the morning or N at night...

 

I think the coolest thing about commuting from the city is that I can get off at any exit from Redbank to 3rd street to go home, without any of the alternates cost me more than an extra 10 minutes in the car.  That's great, both for avoiding traffic, and for adding some variety to the evening commute...

RV, here is a shortcut i have learned coming from the Blue Ash airport area to Summit.  Go on Plainfield all the way to Red Bank. Take a left and go down the hill.  From there the possibilities are almost endless (Erie, Madison, Obervatory...).  I dont know if that would ever work/ be necessary for you but i just thought i would share.

Actually, that's one of my regular scenic routes...I'll do that, then stop by Daniel Drake Park to take in the overlook, then meander home, one of the ways you suggest, or even dropping all the way down to 50...that diagonal that 71 generally runs just opens up tons of possibilities...I've even just taken Kenwood straight to Madisonville, which is a lot of traffic in Blue Ash and by the mall, but it's nice once you're south of the highway...

Yep I have done that too but the hill getting down to Madisonville is narrow and really steep so I try to avoid it. Plus there's Madisonville at the other end of the hill...thats always a bit depressing coming out of Kenwood or Indian Hill or Oakley and being greeted by Madisonville.

I guess I always get excited driving through Madisonville - I see nothing but potential there.  If I were able to invest in real estate (if I didn't have to call someone with skills to be able to do everything in a house beyond changing light bulbs), it would definitely be in Madisonville.  It's just such a great location - nestled between Mariemont, Indian Hill, Oakley - it can't do anything but attract more and more investment...if Oakley is the next Hyde Park, then Madisonville is the next Oakley.  Lots of small single-family homes, looking for a little TLC...I'm too in love with the river to live there - hell, if I inherited a house in Hyde Park, I'd never dream of living there either.  But I love driving through Madisonville...

But I do understand what you mean - it's definitely what I don't see that attracts me, not what I do see...

  Noone would have to worry about traffic if we all lived closer to where we worked. :-D

  Not trying to be a dick, but it's true. You can try to convince me otherwise, but I know better.

 

  I live less than 2 miles from where I work. I'm kinda lucky for that. Just thought I'd rub it in a little. :wink:

 

  BTW- I understand that some people have jobs in which they are not in the same place all the time, so I understand it's not always that easy.

...and some of us don't control where our offices are...I'd love it if our company moved downtown, but there ain't no way in hell I'm going to live in Blue Ash, and I certainly don't plan on quitting a good job...

  Are you saying you live downtown and work in the suburbs?  Wow, it's usually the other way around isn't it?

  Damn, that rush hour drive has to suck. I feel for you.

Cincinnati is not unlike most Ohio cities in that commuting patterns have changed.  Not only do you have so-called "reverse commutes" from the urban core to the burbs, but what has also developed along with the growth of the suburbs is suburb to suburb commuting.  Sadly, our public transportation systems (as well as bike and pedestrian infarstructure) have not kept up with these changes if they address these changing growth patterns at all.

 

Dublin, a Columbus suburb, has done a good job of building pedestrian and bikeways, but even that effort pales to what has been spent and developed for local roads and arterial highways.  Ohio cities are still, for the most part, set up for the motor vehicle.

 

We need to be pushing our local governments and state reps for a more balanced formula for transportation spending and development if we are ever to adequately address what is looming to be a major transportation crisis.

Are you saying you live downtown and work in the suburbs?  Wow, it's usually the other way around isn't it?

Damn, that rush hour drive has to suck. I feel for you.

 

I live near downtown - Walnut Hills...I can walk downtown in 30-40 minutes, or drive there in 3-4 minutes - but I work in Blue Ash, about 15 miles north.  Actually, the commute is really easy.  If I leave at the peak of rush hour, there will be a little slow-down right as I get on the highway, and if things are really slow downtown, it may back up to near my exit (Reading), but there are a ton of surface street alternate routes that maybe cost 10 minutes of drive time - if things are backed up, there's always a way around it.  So really, except for the raw distance, the commute is a piece of cake.

The removal of homes have been completed for a few weeks now. I guess they are done for the year, since straw has been laid down and they don't seem to be straighting or filling up the area they cleared out. This work has been done by ACME Construction. I tried to find out the status of this project with no luck.

moonloop,

 

From what I've heard the construction contract is supposed to be awarded in December.  Work would start in the spring of next year and be completed some time near mid-2007.

From the 12/29/05 Enquirer:

 

 

PHOTO: Heading southeast on Harrison Avenue, Sam Watts of West Chester sees traffic congestion the other way on Wednesday afternoon. Watts drives the route twice a day. A $6.6 million project will try to fix the problems. The Enquirer/Glenn Hartong

 

PHOTO: Traffic backs up on the ramp from eastbound I-74 to Rybolt Road and Harrison Avenue in Green Township Wednesday evening. Cars are in danger when they wait on highway ramps. The Enquirer/Glenn Hartong

 

West Side Jam has sour taste for drivers

Project aims to improve dangerous, gridlocked interchange

By Cliff Radel

Enquirer staff writer

 

GREEN TWP. - Nobody likes the West Side Jam.

 

Its gridlock covers the interchange of Interstate 74, Harrison Avenue and Rybolt Road.

 

Funding approved this month for $6.6 million in changes could improve traffic flow and people's opinion of the hilly crossroads.

 

But the two-stage project of adding lanes and moving a road won't be finished until December 2008.

 

...

 

More at:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051229/NEWS01/512290347/1056/rss02

 

Has anyone heard any updates on this project? I can't find much on the ODOT website.  Are they just adding lanes to the middle and just leaving all interchanges as they are presently?

Okay, they finally have all 4 pier stems done! Last week they made tremendous progress in setting beams, and I was there as one was delivered.

 

The truck negotiates the tight curve onto the bridge

 

Crawling over the hump

 

Killing time... the Black Street Bridge in the distance (notice the school buses symmetrically over the end spans)

 

This one pulled onto the Rossville Bank, usually I have seen them unload them right off the bridge

 

Kiling more time... Oh the potential along the river

 

Then I fell in the river and had to leave before seeing them lower one in place.

I've seen nothing or heard nothing since the discussion of the sound walls I posted a few months ago.

Thanks for the updates.

 

You're right...the shot with the buses is pretty cool.

First off, a shot from a moving vehicle coming from the west

 

The beams are welded together and then concrete fills the gaps

 

Starting to look like something

 

 

At Icefest, I got a glimpse at this model of the new bridge

This will be of interest to maybe one other person, crews are now working on moving the phone lines and poles back off the road. They are also installing a lot of yellow pipes in the ground. The crews have been working in the cold and rain, impressive. So I take it once they finish moving the phone lines back they get to the road work.

I will be so glad when they widen that portion and streighten out the S curve.  It's a nightmare to navigate durring rush hour.  And forget about trying to pass a semi on that part, you'll be lucky if you aren't thrown up onto the curb.

 

Now if we could just get them to rebuild the end of the 6th street viaduct...

I wouldn't mind them upgrading the entire highway to interstate standards.

River Rd under the 6th street viaduct is getting more and more dangerous. Semi-trucks hog two lines in that area two. If drivers don't know that, they will get pinched.

I'm debating whether this should be in City Discussion, P&C or Transporation.  Anyway, from the 1/24/06 Enquirer:

 

 

Columbia Twp. gets a boost

State approves tax breaks for investment along Wooster

By Steve Kemme

Enquirer staff writer

 

COLUMBIA TWP. - This small southeastern Hamilton County township has a new tool for stimulating improvements in residential and commercial properties in the Wooster Pike corridor.

 

The Ohio Department of Development recently certified Columbia Township's 3.3-mile stretch along Wooster Pike between Mariemont and Terrace Park as a community reinvestment area.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/NEWS01/601240363/1056

 

Here's some updated pics.

 

 

 

 

A couple of stairs of to nowhere.

 

 

 

The homeless have a little camp up on the hill that overlooks River Rd. I'm sure CityLink will save them.

 

 

Nice to see that the area has become a giant garbage can.

Nice to see that the area has become a giant garbage can.

'Has been' a giant garbage can, for a long time

From the 2/1/06 Western Hills Press:

 

 

Green gets money for I-74 interchange

Work on I-74, Harrison Road interchange may start later this year

BY KURT BACKSCHEIDER | COMMUNITY PRESS STAFF WRITER

 

GREEN TWP. -- The township is going to receive financial help from the state to complete improvements at the Interstate 74 and North Bend Road interchange.

 

At last week's trustees' meeting, Chuck Mitchell, chairman of the board of trustees, announced the Ohio Department of Transportation's Safety Program Committee has granted funding for the three phases of the improvement project.

 

He said the township applied for the grants, and the department of transportation will provide $378,000 for preliminary engineering costs in fiscal year 2007 and up to $45,000 for right of way costs in fiscal year 2008.

 

...

 

More at:

http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060201/NEWS01/602010408/1074/Local

 

They've finished all 4 of the piers and both abutments as of Thursday, so bring on the rest of the girders!

 

Can you believe the clouds?

 

From the 2/10/06 Enquirer:

 

 

Engineers to study I-471

Ky. 8 ramp, NKU area are two congested targets

BY MIKE RUTLEDGE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

NEWPORT - An engineering firm has been chosen to study how to improve Interstate 471, which runs from the Ohio River to Highland Heights.

 

The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments on Thursday approved hiring Balke American for $675,000 to perform the study.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060210/NEWS0103/602100446/1059/rss13

 

From the 2/17/06 Kentucky Post:

 

 

Ky. 8 ramp still a priority

By Stephenie Steitzer

Post staff reporter

 

FRANKFORT - Kentucky transportation officials say a new exit ramp to Ky. 8 off southbound Interstate 471 remains a priority, even though the project was not included in the state's six-year road plan released this week.

 

The project is currently in the design phase and officials said that will take two years to complete.

 

http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060217/NEWS02/602170364/1014

 

This makes 3/5ths as of 2/17.

 

 

I-75 is too narrow for this option to put an HOV on the inside berm. Why don't they put HOV on the inside berms of I-71? There seems to be enough room.

 

Here is an example i'm talking about.

How well do HOV lanes work for reducing congestion in other cities?

NOW WE ARE MAKING SOME PROGRESS!

 

Only 7 beams left to be installed as of March 3

 

The fifth to last beam makes its way

 

One HOV lane can carry just as much people as 4 mainlines, so yes it does and it encourages mass transit.

 

The biggest expense of this would be the I-71 and Norwood Lateral Interchange because of the entering traffic on the left sides of the Interstate.

Here's a link to the google map of this area.  What if they added a Ridge to I-71S entrance ramp north of the Ridge Road bridge over I-71 (to eliminate that left-side entrance), and then had the 562 entrance fly over the highway and enter on the right (since the Ridge Road entrance ramp would no longer be in the way)?  A is the new Ridge to 71S ramp, B is the new 562 to 71N ramp:

 

 

I don't know if there would be space after the other bridges to get the new 562 to 71N lanes up high enough, and traffic is already super-congested on Ridge - adding another light with loads of folks needing to turn left onto it is probably a bad idea...but I thought I'd toss it out there...

COTA in Columbus is considering HOV "Express Lanes" for buses only along the breakdown lanes.  What's really laughable is that their allowable top speed will be 35 mph.  It's especially funny since many of the current Express buses run on the Interstates at or near the existing legal speeds.

 

:roll:

HOV lanes in Ohio?!  You've got to be kidding me, we would never do something that smart.  With I-75, they decided they wouldn't add them because they wouldn't be used, well make them HOT lanes and I bet they would be used and use that toll money to pay for a rebuild of the Paddock Road bridge.  If I-71 is widened, I would bet they use the inside barrier for the extra lanes, as I suspect they will do with the northern beltway between Winton and 42 as it has the same type of barrier.

 

They need HOV lanes in Columbus, especially on 270 on the north side, 70, 71, and maybe 670.