the business of getting things done

Now that the housing market has cooled to -40, the possibility of creating walkable community by simply building a new neighborhood along the lines of New Urbanism principles has decreased dramatically (but a future blog about the merits of that option is coming). Most of us are faced with the task of retrofitting existing neighborhoods to accommodate alternative modes of travel - bikes, feet, trains, street cars.

I've been listening in for the last few months on the meetings of a group of residents from the other side of West Chester twp attempting to do just that. Their goal is to improve life along the 3 mile stretch of State Rte. 42 that runs diagonally through the township. Also known as Cincinnati-Columbus Rd, it was the major artery between those two cities before the age of the interstate, and it runs through what the oldtimers call Pisgah - a biblical reference to its relative altitude - a village center where several major roads met. At roughly 20 miles from downtown Cincinnati, and unincorporated, the properties along this road are a visually interesting mix of old and new retail, residences, light industrial facilities, and even an occasional farm. With I71 a few miles east and I75 a few miles west, and touching three counties in those three miles, it tends to be the highway that recent development forgot. But state plans to widen the road have given local residents and business owners an opportunity to talk about making other changes - like eliminating unsightly utility lines that cross the road at numerous places, for instance. And making this former truck route accessible to people on bike or on foot.

Currently, their aim is to construct a short bike/foot path from the north end of Sharon Woods Park into the residential neighborhoods to the east of Rte. 42. This park's southern end touches the old core of Sharonville, a quaint and somewhat walkable suburban city on the south side of the I275 beltway, built around Rte. 42. The proposed connector would allow bike traffic between Sharonville and Pisgah, currently four miles by car, which includes a major interchange at the junction of the state and the interstate highways. The connector would change the bike journey from one that only an experienced driver would take, and probably then only to show that it could be done, to one that accompanied and safety-trained children could handle. At a leisurely 8 mph one could tune up a bike at West Chester Cyclery at 11:30 and have lunch at The Blue Goose at noon.

The proposal has a number of things going for it. It takes advantage of existing safe bike routes, and changes those routes from recreational loops to functional connectors. It is relatively short, but opens up big possibilities - a kind of biking Panama Canal. And yet, getting the job done involves the cooperation and assets of several parties: Hamilton County parks, West Chester township (trustees and administration), the various transportation agencies who have authority over the roads involved, and property owners. Each have their own hopes and fears, mixed in with a big dose of indifference to alternative transportation. In my short experience of this group's journey, it seems more likely that the planets will align themselves than that all the players will come to the table ready to get the job done.

My hope is that this small and relatively painless proposal will become reality, and will become a stepping stone for more projects like it - that it will result in people leaving their cars at home, or choosing to get out for fun instead of participating in virtual reality. And that other neighborhoods will see that change is possible.

In the meantime, I tip my hat to this group that persists in its efforts to change our community for the better.