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^ This would be a much-welcome development. The widening of Liberty Street was one in a long line of disastrous decisions made during the 1950s and 1960s in and around Cincinnati's urban core that stripped the city of its vitality, energy and identity all to make commutes easier for suburban workers. Thankfully there are those who now realize this, are in a position to do something about it and are working to address it. The renderings of a narrower Liberty complete with bike lanes and trees would be nothing short of amazing should it become reality. Wide streets have no business is dense cities. They're more suited for traffic-clogged suburban shopping hubs like Mason-Montgomery Road, where pedestrians and/or bicyclists would be laughed at right before they're run over.
Before you go shooting off your mouth about bicycling and such activities in the suburbs, maybe you should actually investigate how many miles of bicycle, jogging, walking, etc. paved trails cities like Mason and areas like Deerfield Twp. actually have. You may find out we have more miles for such physical activities than the entire downtown area combined. Within less then 100 yards of my house we have a paved biking trail which within less than 2 miles we can connect with the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail which stretches for 76 miles. The local biking trail connects throughout Mason for well over 20 miles of interconnected paved trails.
You complain I make comments on things relative to the City without venturing into it. So what is your indepth knowledge of Mason or any other other external suburb based on?
Just another example of why the urban proponents do not seem to be able of just commenting on their advances without putting in a dig at the suburbs.
And you might also find out our newer open air shopping centers have more people walking around and shopping than anywhere currently downtown. At least these all have contiguous retail shopping outlets to visit. How far can you go downtown where contiguous retail outlets exist?
As long as you must dig at the suburbs, we will never have a working relationship.
So go ahead and close all of the downtown streets to two or less lanes of traffic. Then we can watch the urban core shrivel up and die since noone can get in or out.
Before you go shooting off your mouth about bicycling and such activities in the suburbs, maybe you should actually investigate how many miles of bicycle, jogging, walking, etc. paved trails cities like Mason and areas like Deerfield Twp. actually have. You may find out we have more miles for such physical activities than the entire downtown area combined. Within less then 100 yards of my house we have a paved biking trail which within less than 2 miles we can connect with the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail which stretches for 76 miles. The local biking trail connects throughout Mason for well over 20 miles of interconnected paved trails.
You complain I make comments on things relative to the City without venturing into it. So what is your indepth knowledge of Mason or any other other external suburb based on?
Just another example of why the urban proponents do not seem to be able of just commenting on their advances without putting in a dig at the suburbs.
And you might also find out our newer open air shopping centers have more people walking around and shopping than anywhere currently downtown. At least these all have contiguous retail shopping outlets to visit. How far can you go downtown where contiguous retail outlets exist?
As long as you must dig at the suburbs, we will never have a working relationship.
So go ahead and close all of the downtown streets to two or less lanes of traffic. Then we can watch the urban core shrivel up and die since noone can get in or out.
As I've said many times, not only did I grow up and live in the suburbs for the first two decades of my life, but I've also lived in Mason and Montgomery. I lived in the Macaulay Crossing apartments off Fields Ertel right out of college before moving into the city. I also spent a year living at Harper's Point, which is significantly more than the "once or twice" that you've admitted to visiting Findlay Market in the past seven decades. I think I'm more than qualified to speak about that area.
While rails-to-trails conversions are fine and dandy in Cincinnati and literally every other city, they're meant almost strictly for recreational purposes and not at all for transportation. The Little Miami Bike Trail that stretches from Yellow Springs to Milford and will eventually link to downtown Cincinnati is a great way to enjoy a bike ride or to work out, it's a lousy way to actually get somewhere. Surely, kjbrill, you realize the difference between a recreational bike trail and bike-friendly city streets? That's like comparing a cul-de-sac with an interstate: You can drive on both but only one will actually get you anywhere.
And the fact that you're touting - and even bragging about - the national chain big-box retailers along Mason-Montgomery is just too much. I have no comment for that other than to say I prefer the shopping destinations in downtown Cincinnati and OTR about a million times over what can be found on Fields Ertel. Frankly, there's absolutely nothing that you can get there that you can't get at about 40 other parts of the Tri-state; there are, however, things that you can get downtown that you won't be able to find anywhere else in this metro. That's the difference. The shopping options in Mason are about as unique as sand.
Sorry, but I don't think the majority of people go shopping for unique items. They go shopping for things they need, clothing, household goods, sporting and recreational items, home maintenance, groceries, etc. So who cares if there are 40 locations selling the same goods in the metro area? The one I care about is the closest one to me.
One of the most frequently touted neighborhoods on this forum in which to live is Oakley, which is now home to one of the largest concentrations of big-box retailers in the area. So I guess even City dwellers find a need for the same items people in the suburbs do.
Bike friendly city streets - what a contradictive statement that is. Bicycles and cars simply do not mix. What makes the street bike friendly? A lined off narrow path defined as the bike path? How many drivers honor that? I guess urban drivers are much more courteous and observant? Somehow, I doubt that. If you want to take a 4-lane street and reduce it to 2-lanes with a physical separation between the other two original lanes converted to pedestrian and bicycle traffic I can see that also. But the simple fact is, you have reduced the volume of traffic considerable. A bicycle as a means of transportation? Is this daily transportation to and from work? I happen to think we have enough bad weather in this area I do not want to be riding a bicycle to and from work daily. So transportation to the grocery? Try and haul a weeks worth of groceries home on a bicycle. Oh I get it, we will bicycle to the grocery much more frequently.
Trying to return us to a 19th century society before the invention of the automobile is some sort of utopia. Life back then was trying and difficult. Bicycles in the City are just what they are in the suburbs, recreation and physical workout vehicles, daily transportation no way!
There are significant numbers of people in my neighborhood that ride there bikes to work. Probably even more walk to work but that's to be expected as its one of the draws of the location. And since Friday is bike to work day I've been contemplating a leisurely ride from downtown to blue ash. Point being while it takes some dedication and planning, many people make a choice to have a bike as there main transportation to and from work.
Sorry, but I don't think the majority of people go shopping for unique items. They go shopping for things they need, clothing, household goods, sporting and recreational items, home maintenance, groceries, etc. So who cares if there are 40 locations selling the same goods in the metro area? The one I care about is the closest one to me.
One of the most frequently touted neighborhoods on this forum in which to live is Oakley, which is now home to one of the largest concentrations of big-box retailers in the area. So I guess even City dwellers find a need for the same items people in the suburbs do.
this is true. very few people do any more than 5 or 10% of their shopping at the little specialty shops that they love to have in their neighborhood. Mariemont is a hilarious example of this. A quaint little neighborhood that the residents love, but could not exist if not for the giant kroger and other big boxes just outside the village limits. It is a reminder of how hard we work to identify ourselves as somehow more sophisticated or discerning or whatever, but in reality we are all shades of the same color, servants of the same system. perhaps a minor differentiating factor is that, stereotypically, those in the suburbs wholly embrace this system, whereas those in neotraditional and traditional neighborhoods reluctantly participate in the system. but the end result is the same, except for that the reluctant participant (city dweller) is bitter.
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Bike friendly city streets - what a contradictive statement that is. Bicycles and cars simply do not mix. What makes the street bike friendly? A lined off narrow path defined as the bike path? How many drivers honor that? I guess urban drivers are much more courteous and observant? Somehow, I doubt that. If you want to take a 4-lane street and reduce it to 2-lanes with a physical separation between the other two original lanes converted to pedestrian and bicycle traffic I can see that also. But the simple fact is, you have reduced the volume of traffic considerable. A bicycle as a means of transportation? Is this daily transportation to and from work? I happen to think we have enough bad weather in this area I do not want to be riding a bicycle to and from work daily. So transportation to the grocery? Try and haul a weeks worth of groceries home on a bicycle. Oh I get it, we will bicycle to the grocery much more frequently.
I certainly wouldn't want to be a cyclist in this town, it's just hard with roads cut into hills and no room for bike lanes without eliminating a lane of traffic (of course I would support that, but fat chance of it actually happening) although i certainly respect those who try to bike for their daily needs.
I certainly wouldn't want to be a cyclist in this town, it's just hard with roads cut into hills and no room for bike lanes without eliminating a lane of traffic (of course I would support that, but fat chance of it actually happening) although i certainly respect those who try to bike for their daily needs.
I'm trying to think of one dedicated bike lane in the whole city. I think there is one over near clifton/northside, but other than that i'm struggling and that one I may be imagining. Lately I've noticed that traffic lanes are painted to indicate the lane is also a bike lane, but there isn't room for both. Reading the link above, it says the city "installed sharrows." this is like saying the city "installed center lines" on roads. a sharrow is just white paint.
the plans are encouraging. but i just don't see much on the ground right now to get excited about.
The city is very bad for cyclists, but I think it is more the mindset of motorists than anything controlled by public policy. I live six miles from work and I bicycle 200 miles or so a week in the summer, but I wouldn't think of commuting to or from work during rush hour.
When my sister was in nursing school she lived for three years without a car, living in Clifton and working in Mt. Auburn. She biked or walked everywhere. It was extremely difficult and she was struck by cars several times and hospitalized once. None of her accidents with cars were her fault. She finally got a car but still rides quite a bit. In the fall of 2010 she even rode her bike up to Columbus, ran a marathon, then rode back the next day. I do not know anyone more dedicated to cycling as a form of transportation than her, and she even admits that it is not very practical in this city. The roads are mostly narrow and windy because of hills and there are parked cars, sewer grates, gravel patches, monster potholes, and blind intersections all over the place.
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