XPost: rec.bicycles.misc

Cincinnati's first protected bike lanes on Central Parkway were
controversial when first proposed. Now, after 18 months, the city is
being lobbied to both kill them and expand them.

Neighborhood councils are chiming in, in various levels of support,
after a citizen suggested doing away with the halfway completed
project. The city's Transportation and Engineering department is
working to complete a report related to the concerns about the
configuration being confusing and dangerous.

"Let's face it," Robert Schwartz wrote to members of Council in late
December, "that project just turned out to be embarrassingly awful."

"Yet another attack" on the bikeway, Vice Mayor David Mann, chair of
Council's Neighborhoods Committee, said during the committee's Monday
meeting when he introduced letters from the neighborhoods of
Over-the-Rhine and Clifton.


CINCINNATI.COM

Central Parkway bike path passes. This time it is real


"Central Parkway is a perfect street for a protected bike lane because
it links so many neighborhoods with a high percentage of people who
ride bikes," a letter from Over-the-Rhine Community Council President
Ryan Messer reads.

The city should finish the project, which entails extending the path
to Ludlow Avenue, a gateway to the neighborhoods of Clifton and
Northside, Messer wrote.

The bikeway plan – estimated to cost around $500,000 – was approved by
five of the nine members of Council in April 2014. The first section
was completed in July 2014. There is currently no funding for the
second phase to Ludlow.

The section completed on Central Parkway works like this: there is a
bike lane on the outside lane, separated from automobile traffic by
white poles. The middle lane acts as a parking lane and there is a
continuous lane of traffic on the inside lane.

The completed section runs from the northern edge of Downtown to
Marshall Avenue in University Heights, down the hill from the
University of Cincinnati.

Clifton is being more tepid about the requested changes, saying it
"does not necessary connote acceptance of the current traffic issues
raised," according to a letter from Clifton Town Meeting President
Eric Urbas.

Urbas urged the city to address and resolve the problems, asking that
any changes maintain "a safe, protective bicycling infrastructure
route on Central Parkway and not negatively impact the efficient
travel of cyclists."

Schwartz's letter was submitted by Councilman Christopher Smitherman,
who requested a report addressing the letter's laundry list of
concerns. The report is due Feb. 16 from the city's Transporation and Engineering department.

In his letter, Schwartz noted numerous ways in which the configuration
is confusing and more dangerous than the road without the protected
lane.

"None of this really protects any biker and is an ordeal to a
motorist," wrote Schwartz, who said no one seems to use the bike lanes
anyway.


A view of the Central Parkway bike lane near FindlayBuy Photo
A view of the Central Parkway bike lane near Findlay Market Monday
February 8, 2016. Bike lanes that extend along Central Parkway may be
extended through Clifton into Northside. (Photo: The Enquirer/Madison
Schmidt)


On the contrary, Vice Mayor Mann said he commutes every day on Central
Parkway and often sees cyclists using the bike lanes.

"I've used it, too," Mann said of the bike lanes.

Given the death last week of Michael Prater, Mann said removal of the
only protected lanes in the city "seems weird to me."

His committee held the letters for later discussion.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/08/cincinnati-bike-lane-cycling-central-avenue/80006252/

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XPost: rec.bicycles.misc

Cincinnati considering funding options for 7.6 mile Wasson Way hike
and bike
trail that would extend through communities including Hyde Park, Mt.
Lookout
and Oakley.



Story Highlights

* Cincinnati considering funding options for 7.6 mile Wasson Way
hike
and bike trail

Development of the Wasson Way trail remains on track. However, the
city
will need to raise $11.7 million to move forward with the project.

The Wasson Way Project involves converting 7.6 miles of railroad
track
into a recreational hiking and biking trail which would extend from
Victory Parkway near the University of Cincinnati and Xavier
University
to the Little Miami bike trail. The trail will run through nine
neighborhoods including Hyde Park, Oakley, Mount Lookout, Mariemont
and
Fairfax among others.

The project has been under discussion for several years. During
that
time one of the biggest challenges had been securing the right of
way
from rail owner Norfolk Southern.

Cincinnati City Council recently entered into a contract with
Norfolk
Southern giving the city exclusive rights to the right of way.

However, the city will have to raise $11.7 million to actually buy
the
rail line. City officials are now trying to come up with ways to
fund
this

The city has until the end of July to buy the rail line at which
point
it can extend the contract another year at an additional cost of
$500,000.

Cincinnati City Councilwoman Amy Murray, who is chairwoman of the
city's Major Transportation and Regional Cooperation Committee, has
asked city administrators to come up with funding options to buy
the
rail line.

"We have the option to purchase," Murray said. "That is a big step
forward. (Now) it all comes down to how it will be financed."

Murray is among those on city council who have stressed the
importance
of developing this trail.

The Wasson Way organization has also been involved in raising funds
for
the project.

The organization recently raised $95,000 in conjunction with
Interact
for Health, which provided money as part of a matching grant.

The organization is currently working on developing designs for the
trail by working with volunteer engineers and trail experts.

The organization also has a new president. Hyde Park resident Susan
Schaefer was elected last fall.

"What is exciting is this has gone from an idea of a couple of
people
into a movement of many," Schaefer said.

Schaefer said any work on the trail is contingent upon the city
raising
the necessary funds.

However, she said she remains optimistic.

"With all of the benefits this trail has from health to
transportation,
beautification, recreation and economics, we are optimistic the
city
will come up with the funds needed to make this trail a reality,"
she
said.

The Wasson Way organization currently needs volunteers. To
volunteer as
well as receive the organization's newsletter, send an email to
wassonway@gmail.com.

For additional information, visit the website wassonway.org or
"Wasson
Way Project" on Facebook.

Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1Tr0UTv

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XPost: rec.bicycles.misc

On Wed, 17 Feb 2016 15:03:41 -0500, Garrison Hilliard
<garrison@efn.org> wrote:

Cincinnati considering funding options for 7.6 mile Wasson Way hike
and bike
trail that would extend through communities including Hyde Park, Mt.
Lookout
and Oakley.

Story Highlights

* Cincinnati considering funding options for 7.6 mile Wasson Way
hike
and bike trail

Development of the Wasson Way trail remains on track. However, the
city
will need to raise $11.7 million to move forward with the project.

The Wasson Way Project involves converting 7.6 miles of railroad
track
into a recreational hiking and biking trail which would extend from
Victory Parkway near the University of Cincinnati and Xavier
University
to the Little Miami bike trail. The trail will run through nine
neighborhoods including Hyde Park, Oakley, Mount Lookout, Mariemont
and
Fairfax among others.

The project has been under discussion for several years. During
that
time one of the biggest challenges had been securing the right of
way
from rail owner Norfolk Southern.

Cincinnati City Council recently entered into a contract with
Norfolk
Southern giving the city exclusive rights to the right of way.

However, the city will have to raise $11.7 million to actually buy
the
rail line. City officials are now trying to come up with ways to
fund
this

The city has until the end of July to buy the rail line at which
point
it can extend the contract another year at an additional cost of
$500,000.

Cincinnati City Councilwoman Amy Murray, who is chairwoman of the
city's Major Transportation and Regional Cooperation Committee, has
asked city administrators to come up with funding options to buy
the
rail line.

"We have the option to purchase," Murray said. "That is a big step
forward. (Now) it all comes down to how it will be financed."

Murray is among those on city council who have stressed the
importance
of developing this trail.

The Wasson Way organization has also been involved in raising funds
for
the project.

The organization recently raised $95,000 in conjunction with
Interact
for Health, which provided money as part of a matching grant.

The organization is currently working on developing designs for the
trail by working with volunteer engineers and trail experts.

The organization also has a new president. Hyde Park resident Susan
Schaefer was elected last fall.

"What is exciting is this has gone from an idea of a couple of
people
into a movement of many," Schaefer said.

Schaefer said any work on the trail is contingent upon the city
raising
the necessary funds.

However, she said she remains optimistic.

"With all of the benefits this trail has from health to
transportation,
beautification, recreation and economics, we are optimistic the
city
will come up with the funds needed to make this trail a reality,"
she
said.

The Wasson Way organization currently needs volunteers. To
volunteer as
well as receive the organization's newsletter, send an email to
wassonway@gmail.com.

For additional information, visit the website wassonway.org or
"Wasson
Way Project" on Facebook.

Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1Tr0UTv

CINCINNATI -- The Wasson Way mixed-use trail project took a big step
forward this week: The city finally, actually owns a big piece of
property to build it.

Cincinnati City Council set aside nearly $12 million in this year's
capital budget to purchase 4.1 miles of unused rail corridor. Mayor
John Cranley announced Friday that the city had closed on the deal,
more than a year after reaching an agreement with Norfolk Southern on
the deal's terms.

The stretch purchased last week goes from Montgomery Road in Evanston
to Wooster Pike in Columbia Township, with plans for a bike and
pedestrian trail that could ultimately stretch from Victory Parkway
near Xavier University to the Little Miami Bike Trail.

RELATED: Love trails? Here's who to thank

"It will give 100,000 people, living within one mile of the trail,
access to a network of over 100 miles of bike and pedestrian trails,"
Cranley said in a prepared announcement from his office. "Walking and
bike trails improve the local quality of life and increase surrounding
home values."

Proponents also predict job growth and $10 million in annual spending
from bikers and walkers who use the trail through Avondale, Paddock
Hills, Evanston, Hyde Park, Oakley, Mt. Lookout, Madisonville, Fairfax
and Norwood.

If each of the 600,000 people who are predicted to use the bike trail
annually spend an average of $8.64 on food and drink, it would net
nearly $10 million in direct and indirect spending.

That's what students from the University of Cincinnati’s College of
Design, Architecture, Art and Planning predicted in their 2015 study
of the economic impact of the Wasson Way bike trail.

Proponents have been working to make the trail a reality since 2011.
What began as a handful of dreamers has grown into a grassroots
movement, known as the Wasson Way Project, to get the trail built. The
past 18 months have seen major steps forward -- and major setbacks --
for the project. After the city came to terms of a deal to purchase
the rail corridor in May 2015, Cranley and parks leaders touted it as
one of the major projects in a proposed parks levy that ultimately
failed in November. And in October, the city missed out on a federal transportation grant to help pay for the trail. In May, Cranley
unveiled a series of neighborhood projects he wanted funded in this
year's budget, and Wasson Way was one of the priorities.

The city previously received a state grant to construct phase one of
the trail, which will extend from Tamarack Avenue to Madison Road in
Hyde Park. Construction is scheduled to begin next year.

DON'T MISS: Community is key to Wasson Way backers

"The Wasson Way community has worked very hard on this project. It
will be a wonderful addition to our Cincinnati neighborhoods,"
Councilwoman Amy Murray said in Friday's announcement. "I look forward
to seeing all of the families on the bike trail in the future."

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/city-of-cincinnati-finally-actually-owns-rail-corridor-for-wasson-way-project

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