Cycling & bikes - Cincinnati - Riverside Drive may get bike lane

Riverside Drive may get bike lane
By Steve Kemme ? ? October 23, 2010

EAST END - The East End's Riverside Drive, a major artery that has
linked Downtown to eastern Cincinnati neighborhoods and suburbs for
generations, is a prime candidate for almost four miles of bike lanes
or off-street bike paths.

With the construction of a permanent bike trail along the Ohio River
through the East End 10 to 15 years in the future, Cincinnati planners
view the Riverside route as a much quicker, less expensive option.

All five of the bike path concepts, ranging in cost from $400,000 to
$2.3 million, would eliminate parking on one side of the four-lane
road and would restrict motor vehicles to two lanes.

This is part of the city's plan to create 440 miles of bike lanes over
the next 15 years.

The Riverside Drive proposal, which is in the beginning stages, has
drawn praise from some and criticism from others.

Supporters say the bike path could slow down traffic, increase
property values and continue the revitalization of an historic
neighborhood that had been plagued for decades by deteriorating
buildings and a dwindling number of residents and businesses.

"So much of the land along Riverside Drive is unused," said Gary
Wright of Over-the-Rhine, president of Queen City Bike, an advocacy
group for bicyclists. "The East End is kind of a neglected asset that
could be so much more as a revived neighborhood close to Downtown."

The bike path would run from Riverside Drive and Bains Street, just
east of Downtown, to Congress Avenue and an extension of Riverside
that's still called Eastern Avenue.

Gail Silver, a Riverside Drive resident, said a lane or path would
make bicycling much safer than it is now.

"I'm afraid to ride my bike on streets where there's no designated
bike path," she said.

But some East End businesses and residents as well as parishioners of
St. Rose Church, an historic landmark on Riverside Drive and a
neighborhood anchor, have raised objections.

They say converting a parking lane on Riverside to a bike lane would
remove needed parking spaces and would create big traffic backups.
More than 8,000 vehicles travel on Riverside each day.

"It's just wasting taxpayers' money to benefit a small portion of the
populace," said Patrick Homan, a St. Rose parishioner who lives in
Hyde Park. "Taking away traffic lanes on an already busy street makes
no sense at all."

The Rev. Barry Windholtz, St. Rose pastor, said losing parking spaces
would hurt the church, which draws about 1,300 people each weekend to
its Masses.

Melissa McVay, a city planner who is directing the bike trail program,
said she and other city officials are trying to develop a plan that
addresses people's concerns.

"We're working with everyone individually," McVay said. "We're just
trying to get an idea for what people want to see."

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...WS01/10240309/