On April 18th, a story in the Cincinnati Enquirer suggested that a planned, major Bicycle Lane Project in Cincinnati was in danger of being cancelled. Cincinnati Traffic Engineering has been working for 18 months on a project to create protected bicycle lanes on both sides of Central Parkway from Ludlow to Elm Street. The Federal Government had agreed to pay $500,000 of this $600,000 project, but only if Cincinnati committed to a construction contract by May 2nd. The Enquirer story said that Mayor Cranley and some Council members were now wanting to review the project before making this commitment.
Part of the role of your neighborhood community council, Clifton Town Meeting (CTM), is to represent Clifton on issues that impact the neighborhood such as these bike lanes. Because these bike lanes run from Ludlow to downtown, they clearly impact transportation and recreation options for our neighborhood. CTM prefers to discuss and vote on these matters during our monthly public meetings. However, CTM had an emergency email vote on this topic on 4/18 because our next Public meeting would have been May 5th and the entire project was in jeopardy of losing Federal funding by May 2nd. All Trustees who voted agreed to support a resolution in favor of the bike paths. We forwarded the a resolution to City Council on April 19th.
Here’s an excerpt from CTM’s letter to Council:
“This bikeway promotes public health and recreation, reduces pollution, reduces parking issues, and encourages people to explore other neighborhoods. For the many people who love to live in an urban environment but are scared to ride bikes in heavy traffic, these protected bike lanes may be the ONLY way we will get out of our cars and on to our bikes. These bike lanes are what will get us to ride to Findlay Market, Washington Park, the Gateway Quarter, and the Banks. By connecting the biggest population centers from Uptown, Northside, and other neighborhoods to Downtown, this project probably will spell the difference between success and failure in giving Cincinnati a bicycle friendly reputation.”
