Beechmont Avenue through Mt. Washington serves as the neighborhood business district much like Erie Avenue for Hyde Park, Ludlow Avenue for Clifton or Harrison Avenue for Cheviot.
Mt. Washington's neighborhood business district, like others, is built in a way to accommodate pedestrians. Stores front onto sidewalks and buildings are built out to the street. However, traffic volume and speeds along Beechmont Avenue have many worried that their neighborhood business district may be at risk of losing its pedestrian appeal.
In order to address these concerns the
Mt. Washington Community Council has been working with the City of Cincinnati to implement traffic calming measures like narrowing driving lanes, adding on-street parking, street trees, medians, and bike lanes.
"It is our belief that the health, safety and well-being of the residents of Mt. Washington are superior to creating a rapid route through our neighborhood for those who reside on Cincinnati's far east side," said Robert Hayes with the Mt. Washington Community Council Board of Directors.
"We hope that the project will reduce the speeds of those traveling the Beechmont Avenue corridor, and improve the quality of life for those who live, work and shop in Mt. Washington," said Hayes. "These improvements have been proven to reduce speed, and are recognized by design and engineering professionals as effective speed reduction techniques."
As the Mt. Washington Community Council takes the next step towards making these potential changes they hope to hear the public's thoughts on the matter. A public forum will be held this Wednesday, October 14 at the Mt. Washington Recreation Center (
map) from 7pm to 8:30pm. There will be representatives from the City of Cincinnati's Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) on hand to answer questions.
Writer:
Randy A. SimesPhotography by Scott BeselerStay connected by following Randy on Twitter
@SoapboxRandy
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