Posted November 22, 200420 yr OKI hires San Francisco firm to study highway, transit, pedestrian options By Dan Monk Courier Senior Staff Reporter URS Corp. will conduct a $1.9 million study to improve highway, transit and pedestrian connections in the uptown neighborhoods surrounding the University of Cincinnati. "You can't hardly get there from here," said Robert Koehler, director of transportation for the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments, which is managing the 18-month study and hired URS. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2004/11/22/story4.html
November 22, 200420 yr Haven't they already studies these to death? Does anyone even read the studies, or do they just throw them in the trash upon completion? I mean, I've heard of ideas on all of these areas from time to time.
November 23, 200420 yr It's not difficult to get uptown if you don't have to use the interstate to get there.
November 23, 200420 yr I thought that was an interesting article because URS does have an office in Cincinnati. The name is even on the building. I'm there M-F as I work in the building . . .
November 23, 200420 yr I always wondered what URS was because I saw it on the building, but never remembered to look it up. Now I know.
November 24, 200420 yr I'd like to see an interchange at MLK and I-71. It gets very congested on the streets of Corryville and Clifton with people from UC and the hospitals all trying to get on the highway from Taft.
November 24, 200420 yr i don't know how much of this i'm allowed to talk about but i work for the firm that just finished up all the data collection (actually the very last of the turning movement counters is sitting on my desk right now ready to be picked up) and there already is a plan for the MLK interchange. the design has been finished for quite some time now. there is room to put in an interchange without doing any real damage, all there is left to do now is find the funding. but yeah they really need an exit there bad, the traffic counts last week saw 200,000 cars on the south 71 taft exit in 6 days.
November 24, 200420 yr There was an interchange at Victory Parkway in the original plans, that was scrapped. Right of way was purchased and sits vacant today, retaining walls, "exit only" lanes to the Taft Road and Dana Exits, and the weird alignment of the Dana souhtbound on-ramp were constructed to accomodate the possible ramps. I wonder how much affect the completion of the interchange would have on Uptown
November 24, 200420 yr ^Victory pky has to be the most under used 6 lane street in Cincinnati. I guess Xavior would get the most benefit from an interchange there. I guess the city said it was not worth it for a private college.
November 25, 200420 yr Stephan Louis was quoted at the end of the article....the same guy who led the fight against the light-rail levy. Hard to access the uptown area? Gee, maybe a light-rail line would have helped. KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 27, 200520 yr OKI (in conjunction with the City, Uptown Consortium, SORTA, the AMOS project and ODOT) is conducting an Uptown transportation study for the areas of Avondale, Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, East Walnut Hills, Evanston, Fairview/University Heights, Mt. Auburn, North Avondale, and Walnut Hills. An advisory committee met February 17, and it is now moving into the community involvement phase. Their next meeting is Thursday, March 3 from 4-7 PM at Carmel Presbyterian, 3549 Reading Rd. in Avondale. Bookmark this website if it interests you: http://www.uptowntransportationstudy.org/default.htm Better access to a lot of the plan info can be found here: http://www.uptowntransportationstudy.org/library.htm More to come on this soon....
February 27, 200520 yr Additional interstate access at MLK and I-71 would alleviate a lot of rush hour congestion around the university and hospitals. My guess is that's what this is really about.
February 27, 200520 yr ^ Yeah, that always gets brought up. In fact, it's specifically mentioned within the reports. A lot of this ties in with the I-75 study, too, so this could be a total mess.
June 16, 200519 yr The Post reports on recent developments. Sounds like there may be growing momentum. OKI wants to do a lot of multi-modal stuff, if they can get willing partners and funding. Uptown Consortium may fit the bill. Coalition proposes streetcars for Uptown By Bob Driehaus Post staff reporter Joyce Kinsley and the AMOS Project want economic justice for the residents of Cincinnati's near-north neighborhoods. John Cranley wants a new Interstate 71 interchange at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Tony Brown wants it all: economic development, better traffic flow, better quality of life. They've all joined forces to work with the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments to navigate an ambitious transportation plan through all the federal and state red tape to reach their common goals. The area they're focusing on is known as Uptown - Cincinnati's Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Avondale, Evanston, Walnut Hills and Mount Auburn neighborhoods. Read full article here: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050616/NEWS01/506160362
June 16, 200519 yr Streetcars would be an awesome idea. So would better access from I-71.... This study is probably the most interesting one going on in the Greater Cincinnati area.
June 16, 200519 yr This study is probably the most interesting one going on in the Greater Cincinnati area. Indeed it is. And I've been fortunate enough to do some work on it. :)
June 16, 200519 yr Is the uptown region really that large as on the map? Or is that just what they are doing the study on. Also I think we need to get rid of those hideous "UpTown" signs that look like they were made in the 60's (ugly green, ugly orange, brown, all sorts of ugly colors on them).
June 16, 200519 yr Is the uptown region really that large as on the map? Or is that just what they are doing the study on. I've never included a lot of those areas as "Uptown", especially Evanston, North Avondale, Walnut Hills.... It appears that this particular "Uptown" is just a study area and includes some other hoods so that they could include the I-71 corridor. The Uptown Consortium defines the following neighborhoods as Uptown: "Uptown Cincinnati generally includes the neighborhoods of Avondale, Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Fairview, Mt. Auburn and University Heights." P.S> I definietly agree that those Uptown signs could use some updating. Aside from the color scheme, some are pretty badly faded as well.
November 18, 200519 yr Study urges fixes for 'Uptown' travel Bike paths, shuttles, signs proposed By Dan Klepal Enquirer staff writer As a University of Cincinnati student in the early 1990s, Amy Carrelli always wished for a shuttle bus that would take people from campus to the hospitals and zoo in the "Uptown" area. Uptown is considered by planners to be the neighborhoods of Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, East Walnut Hills, Evanston, Mount Auburn, North Avondale, Walnut Hills, Clifton Heights, University Heights and Fairview. Some 15 years later, Carrelli, now a Mariemont resident, was surprised to see that very idea as part of a $1.9 million study of how to improve transportation, ease parking problems and make traveling around the 11 neighborhoods that comprise Uptown easier and safer. Carrelli and more than 100 people attended an open-house-style meeting Wednesday to learn about, and weigh in on, ideas in the study that can be achieved in three years or less. Read full article here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051117/NEWS01/511170362/1056/
February 7, 200619 yr Has anyone checked out the Early Action Suggestions? These are the result of the public meetings late last year. If you have a moment, it might be helpful for you to send your comments in now. They make it pretty easy. All you have to do is fill in a form: http://ca.oki.org/Uptown/EarlyActionComment.asp TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT • Establish a Transportation Management Association (TMA) • What is a TMA? An association established to manage transportation resources and promote alternatives to driving alone • Why a TMA? Information: Provide bus and ridesharing information to employees and visitors Coordination: Work with regional agencies (Metro, OKI) to identify and market programs such as Guaranteed Ride Home Education: Help employees and visitors to plan their trip, identify options Benefits: -- Improve Air Quality -- Reduce Fuel Consumption -- Reduce Parking Needs TRAFFIC OPERATIONS • Traffic Signal Timing Upgrade • Retime existing signal system to improve travel times in Uptown • Potential benefits: -- 25% reduction in delay -- 7% increase in average speeds -- 17% reduction in fuel consumption -- 14% reduction in air pollutant emissions • Parking Restrictions • Peak Hour Parking Restrictions on Burnet Avenue from Erkenbrecker to McMillan • M.L. King Jr./Jefferson/Vine Intersection Improvements • Install new traffic signals, medians and landscaping • Allow northbound through traffic from “Short Vine” to cross MLK and continue north on Vine Street • Relocate EPA driveway to Woodside and reduce number of movements at Jefferson Avenue • Widen MLK to allow for six through lanes through the entire intersection SIGNAGE AND WAYFINDING • Design and Install a New Signage and Wayfinding System • Potential benefits: -- Improved wayfinding for visitors, employees and residents -- Establishes a clear identity for Uptown TRANSIT • Uptown Shuttle Service • Add shuttle connection at Peebles Corner • Add Uptown Circulator • Metro Service • Add bus shelters with route and schedule information at major stops • Install new bus stop signs • Select bus trips on Clifton, Vine and Reading will skip stops to improve bus travel times • Create an Uptown transit map PARKING • Review Parking Meter Locations, Time Limits and Rates • Consider residential parking permit programs if approved by neighborhoods • Improve parking marketing • Adopt “ambassador” program to assist parking concerns PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE ENHANCEMENTS • Bicycle Improvements on Clifton and Dixmyth • Install “Share the Road” Signage • Install Clifton Avenue Midblock Pedestrian Crossing • Improve safety of crossing between UC and Stratford Heights • Add curb “bump outs” and add median to reduce crossing distance • Wide curb lanes provide continuity for bike lanes • Improve landscaping and campus/community identity • Could be a model for other high volume pedestrian crossings http://ca.oki.org/Uptown/Earlyactionsuggestion.pdf
May 11, 200817 yr We learned that in transportation planning class that the new bus stop signs in uptown are supposed to be going up this summer in time for the start of school. Apparently the signs will light up to inform bus drivers that someone at the stop wants to get on.
May 12, 200817 yr New Uptown signage on the way BY RANDY SIMES | URBANCINCY May 12, 2008 *Article includes external links and images. UPTOWN - The Uptown Consortium has been developing a wayfinding system for the Uptown area. This will be a significant improvement upon the current dated signage that you see scattered haphazardly throughout the area now. The signage also seems to blend design concepts from other streetscaping elements seen throughout the City (primarily Downtown). The consortium describes the project as, "an implementation of a bold and unified Uptown wayfinding and streetscape design for pedestrians and motorists." They go on to say that this includes the development of a, "comprehensive, user-friendly Uptown map to locate key Uptown businesses, neighborhoods and institutions." Hopefully this signage will be customizable and/or complimentary to signage that will need to be developed, for the Cincinnati Streetcar, when it comes to the Uptown area in the near future. I love wayfinding systems, but the last thing we need is redundant systems cluttering the sidewalks.
May 15, 200817 yr So when are these wayfinders supposed to find their way to Uptown streets? I really dig the designs you provided. It seems like I've seen a similar design and color scheme before...
July 15, 200816 yr Wayfinding a priority for Uptown http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/uptownsigns0715.aspx An informational meeting was held in Corryville last Wednesday to present the new Uptown Wayfinding Signage System to the public. The Uptown Consortium and the City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) are teaming up to design and build the first unified directional signage in Uptown's neighborhoods since 84 signs were installed in the early 1980s. The new signage is a recommendation of the 2006 Uptown Transportation Plan, which was approved by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) board of directors in January 2007. That plan recommended a total of 610 vehicular, pedestrian and directory signs for the neighborhoods at a total cost of between $807,000 and $1.2 million. On August 14, the Executive Committee of OKI will vote on a resolution to provide a $1 million grant for the project in its 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Program budget. Cincinnati City Council already has passed an ordinance allowing them to apply for the grant. Uptown Consortium and DOTE will provide $250,000 in local matching funds. No timeline has been announced for the signs' design and installation.
June 8, 200916 yr I saw construction crews today removing some of the old wayfinding signs along Clifton Ave. Any ideas? Will the City finally be installing new wayfinding signage?
February 23, 201015 yr New parking restrictions added to MLK Drive By Randy A. Simes, UrbanCincy | February 16, 2010 http://www.urbancincy.com/2010/02/new-parking-restrictions-added-to-mlk.html Parking just got a little tougher for students at the University of Cincinnati. Traffic Engineers from the City's Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) have now eliminated on-street parking during rush hour commutes along Martin Luther King Drive heading between Woodside Drive (entrance to Burnett Woods) and Clifton Avenue. The westbound stretch of roadway has been precariously without parking meters and is one of the most sought after off-campus parking locations for students at UC's College of Business and College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning. While the eastbound side does have parking meters, the rates are extraordinarily low and are not on pace with nearby parking rates on-campus, in Burnett Woods, on other off-campus streets or garages. The move comes after the City completely removed on-street parking from the both directions of MLK Drive between Woodside Drive and Jefferson Avenue, and is seemingly part of the larger effort to grow MLK Drive to a much more auto-oriented street than is currently present. DOTE officials state that the new parking regulations are intended to "improve traffic flow" and "reduce traffic accidents" along the six-lane stretch of roadway. The new regulations prohibit parking eastbound on MLK Drive Monday through Friday from 6am to 9am and westbound from 3pm to 6pm. View photos of the stretch of impacted roadway here: http://www.urbancincy.com/2010/02/new-parking-restrictions-added-to-mlk.html
February 23, 201015 yr Further turning MLK into a mini-highway. Six lanes of traffic with a center median... sounds like a highway to me. Thats ridiculous.
November 15, 201113 yr I searched for a thread an was surprised there was none for this project: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/pages/-44601-/ In 2006, the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the City of Cincinnati, the Uptown Consortium, SORTA, and numerous community organizations, completed the Uptown Study, a comprehensive look at transportation needs throughout Uptown. As part of an overall transportation strategy, this study included a recommendation for consideration of improved access to and from I-71 in the vicinity of Martin Luther King Drive, Taft Road, and McMillan Street. The goals of this study are to reduce travel times, simplify wayfinding to and from I-71, and promote economic vitality within the Uptown area and surrounding neighborhoods. Please visit the project website at to learn more: UptownAccessStudy.com. Meeting Materials here: http://uptownaccessstudy.com/meetings.html 3 alternates on the table: http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKB.pdf http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKBex.pdf http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKBexLOOP.pdf Alternates Discarded: http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_ConsideredDismissed.pdf
November 15, 201113 yr Is it just me, or do all the proposals shown eliminate the possibility of the CL&N right-of-way being used for light rail?
November 15, 201113 yr Wow. http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKB.pdf - Closes the existing Taft ramp. Could be great for Clifton Heights but I'm not sure if this one will fly. http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKBex.pdf - Am I looking at this one correctly, there is no connection from SB I-71 to MLK (Taft would still be used)? Seems like a waste if that's not included. http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKBexLOOP.pdf - Seriously? This loop is terrible.
November 15, 201113 yr MLKB seems the obvious choice. Although, flaring the MLK exit out over Van Buren Ave like it does seems kinda silly when you look at it compared to the alternatives presented that don't do that.
November 16, 201113 yr Is it just me, or do all the proposals shown eliminate the possibility of the CL&N right-of-way being used for light rail? It looks like they didn't even consider it, but I don't know if it entirely eliminates it as a possibility. I was under the impression the bigger problem with the CL&N was that the existing tunnels aren’t wide enough to allow for two trains to pass through at the same time (on a related note, the smaller tunnel under McMillan has been caving in for the past 3 years but looks to be being shored up now). It’s odd they didn’t consider rail with any of these studies, as a lot of the interchange studies I’ve seen for I-75 have rail included, even if the layer is eventually turned off when the drawings are made fully public.
November 16, 201113 yr MLKB seems the obvious choice. Although, flaring the MLK exit out over Van Buren Ave like it does seems kinda silly when you look at it compared to the alternatives presented that don't do that. Civil engineers these days are absolutely dedicated to making every intersection occur at a 90 degree angle whenever possible, even if it means knocking down a dozen buildings. Roads are designed to protect bad drivers at the expense of the tax payer, when the easiest, cheapest, and safest way to protect bad drivers would be to make license exams harder and get them off the road.
November 22, 201113 yr The loop one would be awful especially since it would preclude the use of the ramp by both directions if McMillan is ever returned to two-way traffic. What gets me are the right turn slip roads like at eastbound MLK to southbound I-71. Those are bad for pedestrians and worse for cyclists, yet they keep designing them. There's no consistency with them either. In the redesigned I-75 Mitchell Avenue interchange, only one of the four ramps has that slip road for instance. It's the same with these MLK proposals. It also looks like they're planning for a shared ped/bike side path on the south side of MLK. Of course they don't deal at all with how such a thing would connect with the existing bike lanes east of Gilbert or how it works west of Reading. The whole thing is really vastly over-engineered. Look at how wide the existing bridge over I-71 is and note that they're planning to add a good 30' more to it. They're actually planning to make MLK 10 lanes wide near Reading. I don't deny that the plan improves access, but damn does it really need to be bloated so much, especially if they go with the MLKBex plan that keeps the ramps to Taft and McMillan?
November 22, 201113 yr Wonder if they analyzed the traffic if the Victory Parkway interchange was completed, as the original construction was designed for. Would that pull enough Avondale and Walnut Hills traffic to allow the Taft interchange to work better? The interchange would make a nice back way to University Hospital, the VA and Children's via Rockdale and Forest. All the walls and R/W is in place at that never-constructed interchange.
November 22, 201113 yr MLKB+EX is the best in my opinion. Why close off the ramps at Taft & McMillan? There is minimal work needed to keep them there/fix them up, and all that would do is overcrowd Madison. With all the added traffic at Madison that would be caused by adding new ramps & closing the other ramps (all traffic from Clifton Heights, Walnut Hills etc would have to drive up to Uptown rather than having it semi-split by keeping both options) I can't imagine how the bike lanes would stay in the plan when the road becomes packed. The loop is by far the worst, and MLKB is good, but why close off those options, just forcing more cars onto reading and up to madison when you could keep both options available for negligible cost increases.
November 22, 201113 yr Wow. http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKBex.pdf - Am I looking at this one correctly, there is no connection from SB I-71 to MLK (Taft would still be used)? Seems like a waste if that's not included. It's hard to look at- there IS a southbound MLK exit- Basically, you would "exit" for both Taft & MLK about a half mile before you hit MLK, Taft traffic goes under the bridge, while MLK traffic exits to the bridge. Not the clearest drawing, but it's there.
November 23, 201113 yr Wow. http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKBex.pdf - Am I looking at this one correctly, there is no connection from SB I-71 to MLK (Taft would still be used)? Seems like a waste if that's not included. It's hard to look at- there IS a southbound MLK exit- Basically, you would "exit" for both Taft & MLK about a half mile before you hit MLK, Taft traffic goes under the bridge, while MLK traffic exits to the bridge. Not the clearest drawing, but it's there. Thanks. I see it now.
November 23, 201113 yr Can any of our resident historians here explain to me why an MLK interchange was never in the original I-71? Dana to Taft is one of the longest urban stretches of interstate I can think of with no exits.
November 23, 201113 yr Because MLK didn't exist when I-71 was built. An interchange was planned at Victory Pkwy but was blocked by neighborhood opposition. http://www.urbancincy.com/2011/03/major-projects-will-transform-mlk-drive-through-uptown-over-next-20-years/
November 23, 201113 yr Wow. http://uptownaccessstudy.com/Images/PDFs/Open_House2%20materials/UptownOH2_MLKBex.pdf - Am I looking at this one correctly, there is no connection from SB I-71 to MLK (Taft would still be used)? Seems like a waste if that's not included. It's hard to look at- there IS a southbound MLK exit- Basically, you would "exit" for both Taft & MLK about a half mile before you hit MLK, Taft traffic goes under the bridge, while MLK traffic exits to the bridge. Not the clearest drawing, but it's there. Federal Highway Specifications require 2000 feet between the end of an onramp and the beginning of an exit ramp, so there isn't enough room to fit a ramp from MLK to I-71 Southbound and a ramp from I-71 Southbound to Taft. That's why they instead show the collector ramp, which would have a lower speed and allow a shorter distance between the on ramp and exit ramp.
November 23, 201113 yr MLK is just as close to Victory Parkway as it is to Taft/McMillan, so ramp proximity would've been a problem. My guess is that they figured Taft/McMillan and Victory would be the main access to Uptown and Avondale from I-71, while MLK would be the primary route for local east-west traffic. Plus, it's not that hard to get from a Victory Parkway interchange to MLK via Gilbert. Note that both Victory (between Rockdale and Gilbert) AND Gilbert (between Victory and MLK) were significantly widened and straightened out in the 1970s in preparation for that interchange.
November 23, 201113 yr No, the MLK overpass wasn't there originally. That stretch of I-71 opened in 1966 and the overpass was built in 1970. The CL&N only used the tracks until 1968. The Victory Parkway work was done as part of the I-71 construction. You can see provisions for the S71 exit ramp when you get on S71 from Montgomery (the way the ramp swoops wide to the right).
November 23, 201113 yr It was done at the same time Jake, the 1966 construction ended between Florence and McGregor in Walnut Hills. The part of I-71 near MLK was all under construction at once in 1970. See here. The new MLK is in ODOT's original drawings (called Relocated Melish Ave.). ODOT's work only extended between Reading and Gilbert though, as far as MLK was concerned. Here's a drawing that shows the MLK overpass, the Victory Parkway interchange, and the work on Victory and Gilbert (also note the Deer Creek RR Tunnel near Blair). ODOT's bridge inventory dates everything on I-71 between Kennedy and McGregor Avenues to 1972 (except the N&W bridge near Dana which is 1973 for some reason). That's certainly not gospel, since it's pretty clear from the historic aerial that the McGregor overpass was already built in 1968. Nevertheless, MLK is in there at 1972 with everything else, and you can see in the 1970 aerial that it was clearly under construction with the rest of the highway.
November 23, 201113 yr ^ The Bridge for "MLK" was built, yes-- But the East-West mega-blvd that today we call MLK/Madison did NOT exist. You can even see in the drawings, that the bridge went to two smaller streets- it was not connected all the way across uptown and to the east side like it is today-- It was not a major thoroughfare like it is today until several years later. At the time Victory Parkway was a MUCH bigger street and taft and mcmillan crossed most of uptown towards the east side. Melish was a small road and would not become MLK/Madison for several years.
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